On Friday March 13th, at approximately 12:50 a.m., The Cutthroat Café caught fire. Though the local restaurant was not significantly burned, the water and smoke damages were major. The diner will be closed until mid June for reconstruction.
“The fire was started in the two rooms in the back of the restaurant because of faulty electrical wiring, but fortunately we were able to control it there instead of it spreading throughout the front room as well,” says a firefighter on scene. Thankfully, the damage that was done should not be too difficult to repair and insurance is covering the costs. Chip Thomas, the owner of the diner, held a meeting with his employees on March 19th to give insight to the future of The Cutthroat. The restaurant will have to be completely rebuilt in areas and there is talk about expanding and improving.
Thomas assures his workers that major changes will not be made including the location of The Cutthroat Café. “I love what we have here. It’s not just a restaurant, it’s a family. I’m in this for the long haul,” he says. The contractors that will be working on the rebuilding have estimated ninety days before the reopening but the owner has let them know that many are out of work because of this and he hopes they will use that as motivation.
The restaurant employees, including Chip, have brainstormed ideas to keep the business flowing until the reopening. The idea of a car wash to raise money was even tossed around. “If we have to, we will be out here with a snow cone machine!” says a waitress.
As far as his employees are concerned, they will stay on pay roll for sixty days, which the insurance is paying for. Along with the pay roll, the workers are all promised their jobs back as soon as the Café reopens.
“The Cutthroat will not let itself become a memory. If we have to we will be out here with a hot dog cart,” says Chip Thomas. However, the Cutthroat Café has made too much of an impact on the Bailey community for it to ever be able to fade into a memory.