(Posted April 19, 2015)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
The historic Red Brick Tavern in Lafayette is slated to reopen this week following a fire that broke out in the kitchen the morning of April 11.
Work was being done on a deep fryer when the fire started, said Cris Cummins, who co-owns the restaurant with Madonna Christy. He said the fire was contained to under the hood in the kitchen.
Central Townships Joint Fire District’s Lafayette station was first on the scene. Because grease was involved, fire fighters used fire extinguishers rather than water to douse the flames. The fire was out in less than four minutes, said John Hopkins, assistant fire chief.
Following the fire, Cummins and Christy closed the restaurant in order to clean the kitchen and other parts of the business affected by smoke.
“They did a heck of a job cleaning it up. That’s for sure,” Hopkins said.
Cummins met with the fire district and a food inspector on April 13. They gave him the green light to reopen the restaurant. Cummins said the menu will be limited, featuring no deep-fried food, until the hood is repaired or replaced.
“We will be back to full function just as soon as we get everything back together,” he said.
Other companies responding to the fire included Central Townships’ Newport station, the city of London, Jefferson Township, Harmony Township in Clark County, Pleasant Valley in Plain City, and Madison EMS.
The Red Brick Tavern dates back to 1837, was a stagecoach stop and inn, and entertained six United States presidents. It is located at 1700 Cumberland St. (Route 40) in Lafayette. Cummins and Christy purchased the property in 2007.
