Harry's Seafood Bar and Grille will close for about a week after fire causes evacuation

Sara-Megan Walsh, The Ledger
·2 min read
Lakeland Fire Department responded to calls of a structure fire at Harry's Seafood Bar and Grille around 3 p.m. Wednesday. Firefighter checked the building to ensure flames had not spread.
Lakeland Fire Department responded to calls of a structure fire at Harry's Seafood Bar and Grille around 3 p.m. Wednesday. Firefighter checked the building to ensure flames had not spread.

LAKELAND — The popular Harry's Seafood Bar and Grille in downtown Lakeland will be closed for about a week after a kitchen fire caused an evacuation and some damage Wednesday afternoon.

Lakeland Fire Department responded to a call about 3 p.m. of a commercial structure fire at Harry's, 101 N. Kentucky Ave. Firefighters arriving on scene found a light smoke-filled restaurant with a partial evacuation in process, according to LFD spokeswoman Stephanie Lewis.

Flames were visible coming from a a kitchen hood system that vents onto the roof of the building, according to the fire department. The blaze in the kitchen was extinguished before firefighter made their way onto the roof to bring the fire under control.

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A fire broke out in Harry's Seafood Bar and Grill's kitchen ventilation system on Wednesday- afternoon, prompting an evacuation of the restaurant.
A fire broke out in Harry's Seafood Bar and Grill's kitchen ventilation system on Wednesday- afternoon, prompting an evacuation of the restaurant.

The firefighters executed an overhaul to ensure there was no further fire in the extension before ventilating the building, Lewis said.

Justin Griffin, co-owner of Harry's, said the exact cause of the fire had not yet been determined by the fire marshal and inspectors, but he did not believe it was a grease fire as some speculated on social media.

Griffin said the clean up and repair of the restaurant was already underway on Thursday morning.

"Our downtime should be pretty minimal," he said. "We are targeting a week to get the work done."

Griffin said he has already spoken to a contractor about the repairs. He has experience dealing with emergency repairs after his St. Augustine restaurant has flooded twice.

"We pride ourselves on doing the job right and safely, but getting the job done quickly," he said. "We've got an obligation to the public and, more importantly, our employees."

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Fire causes evacuation of Harry's Seafood Bar and Grille in Lakeland