Boston Pizza looks to reopen after fire

BOWMANVILLE -- About 120 employees, most of them students, are out of work for at least several months after a fire devastated the new Boston Pizza restaurant early Sunday morning.

Laurie Weir, a spokesperson for Trillium Communications, which represents Boston Pizza International, said it's estimated the restaurant will re-open in late August or early September.

A fire tore through the restaurant at Hwy. 2 near Waverly, causing damages estimated between $800,000 and $1 million.

"Nothing is set in stone. It depends," said Clarington Fire Chief Gord Weir. "They will have to do a substantial rebuild. I'm not sure if they will be able to keep the steel framing or not. It's very sad. They were open for less than three weeks. Luckily, no one was hurt."

Franchise partners Barb and Larry Cadwell of Clarington, and Cory Luedtke, of Toronto, are planning to meet with insurance adjusters and engineers within days to determine more precisely when they will reopen.

The fire was devastating, said Ms. Cadwell, adding they are thankful no one was in the new building at the time of the fire. Most of their employees are part-time students.

"To be honest, right now we are concerned about our staff. We hope most of them will be back," she said.

The Ontario Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the fire, which is believed to have started in the roof.

"It didn't start in the kitchen or anything like that," Ms. Cadwell said.

Boston Pizza International thanked members of the Clarington Fire Department for their "professionalism in minimizing the damage."

"We are pleased at how popular our restaurant has been with people of Clarington in the few weeks since it opened and we are committed to doing everything possible to get it back up and operating so we can continue serving our guests," their news release said.

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