WEST LOOP — The famed Palace Grill was heavily damaged by a fire Thursday night.
Firefighters responded to the fire about 10 p.m. and were able to put out the blaze, but there was “extensive” damage to the restaurant, 1408 W. Madison St., according to the Fire Department. No one was injured.
The restaurant is closed for the time being. Photos showed damage to the roof, a heavily charred interior and destroyed windows.
“This restaurant is my third child,” owner George Lemperis said Friday morning as he walked in and out of the diner, crestfallen.
The restaurant, which is near the United Center, has been open since 1938. It’s a go-to spot for Blackhawks fans before games — and has also been popular with players.
A grease fire likely started on the grill, and it took the greatest toll on the kitchen and the front of the house, Lemperis said.
But the famed dining room — and all its sports memorabilia — was relatively unscathed.
“It’s expensive damage. This is day one of the rest of my life, trying to pick up the pieces and go on. This is an iconic restaurant in Chicago,” Lemperis said. “To rebuild this, it’s not going to take three days. How long? I don’t know.”
Lemperis said his phone has blown up with a thousand or so voicemails and texts from supporters, who he called “the greatest customers in the world.” A crew of friends helped him take the memorabilia off the walls and move it safely to his garage.
Lemperis is working through insurance and trying to follow the advice he recently gave his daughter: “One step at a time.”
But Palace Grill will serve up skillets, Denver omelets and Reubens again — eventually.
“I hope you all make it back,” Lemperis told reporters. “Nobody got hurt; it’s only money.”
Katrina Vlasich, a Blackhawks season-ticket holder and Palace Grill regular, said news of the fire hit her hard.
“I had a bad night of sleep about this. … My heart hurts; it’s hard,” she said. “When you see how people are bouncing back after COVID … and now this.”
Vlasich said she started going to the diner because it was a “shrine to the Blackhawks,” but she came to know and love Lemperis, the staff and other customers.
“I’ve met so many people there. Everyone comes in with a smile on their face,” she said. “It’s the atmosphere that George himself sets. You come in, and he’s there with a friendly greeting. … He knows your name.
“I love going there before a game, it sets the mood right.”
Brian Brown, another longtime customer, was devastated after walking out of the restaurant Friday morning. He had made plans to eat breakfast there with his mother.
Brown called the Palace Grill a “family affair,” saying Lemperis would sit down with customers at the restaurant and make them feel at home.
“You can see a celebrity here, and everybody can take their shades off,” Brown said.
Fans of the diner also took to social media to post their reactions to news of the fire.
“My thoughts are with George and his great staff with the brutal news of the legendary Palace Grill having an extensive grease fire,” NHL analyst and former Blackhawks goalie Darren Pang said in a tweet.
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