Farmer Boy Restaurant fire appears to be accidental

Kevin Lynch, Wooster Daily Record
·2 min read
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WOOSTER − The Farmer Boy on Cleveland Road in Wooster was destroyed by a fire Friday night, and by Monday, about $4,000 had been raised to help out employees.

The cause of the fire appears to be accidental, according to the state Fire Marshal's Office.

Jason Simone, a sales manager at neighboring Wooster Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, at 2626 Cleveland Road, said it is sad to see what happened to the restaurant, where many of the dealership staff regularly dined.

"It's really kind of sad. Everybody here ate lunch there all the time," Simone said Monday. "We're hoping they are able to rebuild and things get back to normal soon for them. It's sad to see something like that happen."

A GoFundMe page was set up with a goal of reaching $20,000. As of 1 p.m. Monday, nearly $4,000 has been raised through 70 donations. The funds will support workers at Farmer Boy Restaurant, which was destroyed by fire.
A GoFundMe page was set up with a goal of reaching $20,000. As of 1 p.m. Monday, nearly $4,000 has been raised through 70 donations. The funds will support workers at Farmer Boy Restaurant, which was destroyed by fire.

Wooster Division of Fire was called shortly before 11:30 p.m. Friday to the commercial structure fire at the restaurant, 2558 Cleveland Road, where smoke and flames were coming through the roof, according to the fire report.

Fire crews made an aggressive interior attack and were able to contain the fire to the kitchen and attic areas.

Due to the amount of fire, the building is likely a total loss, the report said.

The State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosion Investigations Bureau assisted the Wooster Fire Investigation Unit.

Mutual aid was provided by the Wooster Township Fire Department, Orrville Fire Department and Central Fire District.

The fire at Farmer Boy Restaurant in Wooster was able to be contained to the kitchen and attack areas, but the building is still likely a total loss.
The fire at Farmer Boy Restaurant in Wooster was able to be contained to the kitchen and attack areas, but the building is still likely a total loss.

GoFundMe help for restaurant staff

A GoFundMe page was set up with a goal of reaching $20,000. As of 1 p.m. Monday, nearly $4,000 has been raised through 70 donations.

"We are very devastated by a fire breaking out late Friday night leaving our work a total mess and leaving all the staff with fears of what the future holds," Mindy Jackson of Farmer Boy Restaurant and organizer of the GoFundMe page, said on the page. "Many of our staff rely on this job as their only source of income. Although each staff can file for unemployment, payments will not be any where close to what people actually made and could take weeks to get the first payment."

Jackson added servers rely on tips. The employees are like family and the funds raised will be divided among the 43 workers from the restaurant to help relieve financial burdens, she said on the post.

"We are all saddened for this tragedy," she said. "This is a very sad and unfortunate thing to happen in our community as everyone worked, ate, knew about Farmer Boy as a local family business."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Farmer Boy fire called accidental, building likely a total loss