Publisher
A dozen or so Café Bixby patrons found themselves drinking coffee on the sidewalk last Friday morning after an electrical fire broke out at the popular eatery located at 3900 Atlantic Ave. According to Café Bixby owner Jack Skandalakis, a neighbor walking her dog came into the restaurant around 7:30am and warned those inside of a rooftop fire.
“No one believed it until the fire trucks arrived. Customers took their coffee outside and watched as the firefighters worked about ten minutes to extinguish the fire,” reported Skandalakis during a Dec. 16 interview just hours after the fire occurred.
During the interview, Skandalakis motioned toward some of his regular customers, who were enjoying free coffee and baked goods, and explained that even though the restaurant was closed until all of the necessary repairs and cleaning had been completed, he just couldn’t turn away his most loyal customers. “I consider them family,” said Skandalakis.
Immediately following the fire, other employees arrived and phone calls from locals started pouring in. “We even had a call from a church in the area who offered to come help us clean,” said a smiling Skandalakis. When asked why he was in such good spirits in spite of the fire, the Café Bixby owner cited the group hug shared by the staff, the support of the community, and his strong faith.
“God is teaching me. I’m being taught humility and patience, two things I need to learn. I thank God no one was hurt.”
As of press time yesterday, Skandalakis said that the repairs were done. He reopened at 2pm for dinner that same day.
“Please tell your readers we will be back to regular hours on Friday (6:30am-9pm daily), Dec. 23 and we will be open for regular menu service on Christmas day from 8am-3pm.”
Although some other media sources reported that the fire at the establishment was extensive, Skandalakis says the accident, started by a problem with the outdoor neon signage, was actually quite minimal, and estimates the damages to be in the tens of thousands.
