A small fire started in the kitchen of Reggae Shack Cafe on Tuesday afternoon.
At about 12:30 p.m., one of the burners in the kitchen caught fire, said owner Omar Oselimo. Kitchen staff called 911, and Gainesville Fire Rescue quickly put out the flames. The restaurant had not reopened as of Tuesday.
No customers were in the restaurant during the fire, and it closed shortly after, Oselimo said.
The restaurant’s manager called Oselimo, who then rushed over to the restaurant, located at 619 W. University Ave.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” he said.
Oselimo said he was relieved the fire didn’t damage more of the restaurant. The cause of the fire and damage costs are unknown.
“I was happy it wasn’t so bad,” he said. “Hats off to GFR for their quick response.”
Dominic and Astrid Gosein drove from Williston to the restaurant at about 1:30 p.m., hungry for oxtail and goat curry. The couple, who are from Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti, wanted to treat their son to Caribbean food.
“We wanted to show him real Caribbean spice,” Astrid Gosein said.
Instead, they were greeted by the smell of smoke and no food. They said they would visit another restaurant instead.
“It’s not the same but it’s just one of those things,” Dominic Gosein said.
Contact Meryl Kornfield at mkornfield@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @MerylKornfield
