Fire Closes Popular Bucktown BBQ Restaurant
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A late-night fire believed to have started in a hot water heater in the basement significantly damaged a popular Bucktown barbecue restaurant, and apartments located above.
Lillie's Q will be closed indefinitely as a result of the fire, restaurant spokesman Dave Andrews said.
No one was injured in the fire at North and Wolcott, according to a Chicago Fire Department spokesman. Police said the fire was reported at 11:40 p.m.
Firefighters cut into the roof to get at the blaze, according to dispatch reports.
The fire caused "significant damage to the restaurant and the apartments upstairs," Andrews said.
Fire officials told the restaurant's owner that the blaze likely originated with a hot water heater in the basement, Andrews said. The fire began after the restaurant had closed for the night, so no one was inside at the time, he said. It briefly reignited about 3 1/2 hours later.
In addition to the Bucktown restaurant, the fire also forced the operators of Lillie's Q to indefinitely shut down their outpost in the Chicago French Market in Union Station, since the food for the branch was prepared at the restaurant.
Prize-winning barbecue Chef Charlie McKenna named the restaurant after his grandmother, Lillie, according to the restaurant's website.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
