Small Fire at Good Goose Cafe Leaves Restaurant Closed This Morning

A small but smoky fire was reported at Good Goose Cafe (5210 Beverly Blvd., just around the corner to the west of Larchmont Blvd.) shortly after 5:15 p.m. yesterday evening.  There was a swift response from both the fire department and LAPD, which helped re-route buses and other rush hour traffic from the area while LAFD dealt with the fire.

Good Goose manager Vilas Aroon told the Buzz this afternoon that an employee first smelled smoke and discovered the fire in a store room behind the restaurant.  Aroon said the employee tried to put out the blaze, but was unable to do so, and called 911.  No customers were in the restaurant at the time (it was “the quiet time of day,” Aroon said), and the employees exited safely.

According to LAFD dispatch audio, posted on the Citizen app, there was “moderate smoke showing” when the fire department was summoned.  Upon arrival, one team of firefighters discovered a “small fire in the storage room toward the rear” of the restaurant, while another team went immediately to the roof.  According to the audio recording, “The roof division did some ventilation.  Seemed like it had some pretty good smoke.”

This was confirmed by at least one spectator, Kyril Kasimoff, who owns Kasimoff Blüthner Piano Co. just north of Beverly on Larchmont.  Kasimoff told the Buzz he saw the firefighters puncture the roof and then “whoosh – a blimp of smoke flew out.”

But that turned out to be the most dramatic part of the evening.  After the roof ventilation, firefighters at the scene declined any further LAFD support, and reported that the fire was knocked down at 5:29 p.m.

After the firefighters left, according to both Kasimoff and Aroon, restaurant staff and friends spent several hours tidying up, well into the night.

And this morning, everything looked like it was pretty much back to normal outside.

But the cleanup inside won’t be quite so easy.  While Aroon said most of the fire damage was confined to the storeroom area, he said there is some smoke and water damage in other parts of the restaurant, which we could definitely see with a peek through the front window this morning.

So the business is understandably closed today (and its Instagram page says it will remain closed “until further notice”).  And Aroon said they are just beginning the process of contacting the landlord and insurance company about next steps.  He said it will probably be at least a few days, if not a week or more, until they have more information about repairs and re-opening timelines.

Luckily, however, other parts of the building may have escaped even the fairly minimal damage that the restaurant suffered.  Realtor Anne Loveland, who works from the Coldwell Banker real estate office on the east side of the building, told the Buzz this morning that she had not been in to the office yet, but had not heard of any damage there.  She said a manager and two employees who were there earlier today reported a “palpable” smell of smoke, however, so the office was planning to close at 11 a.m.

Good Goose is a popular dining spot – for both community members and other local business folk – and we’re guessing many people will agree with Kasimoff that “it’s the most wonderful restaurant – we hope they’ll re-open.”

The cause of the fire is still unknown.