Oct. 31--A two-alarm fire that broke out early Monday morning destroyed Mt. Washington Tavern, a popular restaurant and bar in North Baltimore. Thick smoke that was visible for miles along the Jones Falls Expressway billowed for hours and the fire closed several streets in the Mount Washington neighborhood for most of the day.
Tavern owner Rob Frisch stood across Newbury Street from the business where he has worked for 26 years, the last four as owner, and called the damage "a total loss."
The fire was reported about 4:30 a.m. and went to a second alarm at 5:08 a.m.
"Firefighters encountered heavy fire conditions and immediately put ladders in service," said Chief Kevin Cartwright, Baltimore City fire department spokesman.
About 65 firefighters, including one unit from Baltimore County, continued to fight the fire throughout the morning, he said. The fire was brought under control shortly before 9:30 a.m., Cartwright said. Only then, were conditions considered safe enough for firefighters to enter the two-story, shingled building with additional hoses to extinguish hot spots smoldering inside. As firefighters atop ladder trucks poured water in through the collapsed roof, smoke continued to rise from the building for several hours.
Cartwright said it was impossible to know this early in the investigation what had started the fire. Frisch said all was well when he closed for the night about 2 a.m. Three hours later, at his home in Upperco, he got a call about the fire.
Frisch was facing the wide wooden entrance to the tavern and said he had been there since 6 a.m. The imposing front door seemed intact, but the roof was gone, and all the second-story windows were blown out. Hours after the blaze started, firefighters were still dumping water on the building.
"I can't leave," he said, his voice thick with emotion.
The business employs about 70 and has a loyal customer base, he said. Preparations were under way for the Monday night football crowd.
"Absolutely we will rebuild as quickly as possible," he said. "This is a total loss. We're looking at a lot of work, but we'll be back."
Dozens of people stood in the early morning cold to watch crews battle the fire, including owners of other businesses in the area and parents taking children to school.
Mustapha Snoussi, owner of the nearby Crepe Du Jour restaurant across Sulgrave Avenue from the tavern, said his business was forced to close Monday because access to it is blocked. He was grateful that firefighters had contained the blaze to the one building. He said he got a call early in the morning that "the whole village was on fire," but arrived to find only the tavern was damaged.
"We're really glad they could contain the fire so quickly," he said. "The buildings are wall to wall here, and we were worried about the whole block."
Blake Wollman, owner of the Desert Cafe on Sulgrave Avenue, said the tavern was an anchor for other businesses in the area.
"We're all in shock," he said. "This is the flagship of the village. This will definitely hurt business."
Koula Savvakis, president of the Mount Washington Village Merchants Association and owner of DK Salon across the street from the tavern, said she considers the bar and restaurant to be an anchor of the retail and restaurant district.
"When we moved to Mount Washington [in 2008] and we were trying to tell people where we were, we always said the Mount Washington Tavern," she said.
She predicted the fire would have a negative impact on other stores. "We all feed on each other as businesses," she said.
Julia Verdery said she has been going to the tavern since she was a little girl and that many of her friends worked there. She woke up before sunrise and walked down to the area with her dog after hearing the sirens.
"The whole glassed-in Sky Bar is gone," she said. "It's so lucky no one was hurt, but this is a big community landmark. I hope they will rebuild."
Elizabeth Brown's husband was planning to watch football Monday night at the bar with friends. Her family moved to the neighborhood three years ago from Indiana and the day they settled on their home, they went to the place to celebrate.
"This is real icon in Mount Washington," she said. "People who don't live here know all about the tavern."
Jon Gamse, 53, has lived nearby all his life. When he was a child, Sparwasser's, a real dive of a bar with nothing but a pool table, opened in the village in 1933, he said. It moved to the Newbury Street site eight years later. The tavern opened there in the mid-70's, he said.
"The tavern was a big upgrade for this area and a big draw," he said. "It's not going to help that it's closed, especially this time of year."
Traffic was closed on both directions of Newbury Street between Smith and Sulgrave avenues. Parents of students at nearby schools had to park their cars and were walking with their children because neighborhood streets were closed. Some called the schools to find the best route. The activity impeded access to the Mount Washington light rail stop.
Jenee Mateer, walking with her son to Mount Washington Elementary, said she usually drives but could not get through neighborhood streets. "There's an awful lot of history here," she said. "This is so sad."
Many business colleagues sought out Frisch and offered him sympathy and support.
"We'll make improvements and come back stronger than ever," he said.
The bar was recently selected as one of the Baltimore-area's best bars
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/music/midnight-sun-blog/bal-100-bars-happy-hours-pictures%2C0%2C4485216.photogallery.
Baltimore Messenger reporter Larry Perl contributed to this article.
