Barraco's in Evergreen Park Sustains Heavy Damage in Early Morning Fire

EVERGREEN PARK, IL, Updated, 11:24 a.m. -- Barraco’s in Evergreen Park sustained significant damage in an early morning fire that sent the kitchen crew scrambling outside for their lives. Mayor Jim Sexton described the fire that consumed most of the building at 3701 W. 95th St. as “devastating.”

“It sustained a lot of damage. [Fire crews] are wrapping it up,” Sexton said Saturday morning. “It was a horrible fire.”

The restaurant's dining room closes at 2 a.m., but carry-out and delivery is available 24 hours. Sexton said kitchen employees were present in the building when the fire broke out around 5:30 a.m.

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“[Employees] all got out safely,” the mayor said. “To the best of my knowledge no one got hurt.”

While 95th Street was back open for traffic just before noon, the restaurant was boarded up. Fire damage was visible on the west part of the building. The adjacent Naples Bakery was not damaged.

The mayor said he received a text from a village police officer that there was a fire at the popular Evergreen Park restaurant. When he arrived, Sexton estimated that there were ten fire companies from surrounding communities assisting the Evergreen Park Fire Department in battling the blaze.

“I walked over and 95th Street was completely shut down,” the mayor said. “All of the firemen from all the different communities did a great job. We thank all of them. It was a difficult situation.”

Sexton called Barraco’s an institution in Evergreen Park since the early 1980s, saying that owner, Nick Barraco, and his family were an asset to the community.

“I’ve known the family for many years,” he said. “They’re a good family, a strong family and I know they’ll be back. Anything the village or residents can do to help, we’ll help them.”

Original story -- 10:01 a.m. -- Fire crews from Evergreen Park and several crews responded just before 5:30 a.m. to a blaze that began in the kitchen area of the popular restaurant.

No injuries have been reported, but police still had 95th Street closed off between Pulaski and Central Park as of 9:30 a.m. -- Lorraine Swanson, Patch Editor

Updated 10:01 a.m. -- Baracco's released a statement on Facebook at 8:15 a.m. notifying their customers of the fire.

"We regret to inform our customers that out Evergreen park location caught fire earlier this morning," the statement read. "We sincerely apologize to all of our customers who's orders we're unable to be fulfilled this morning. We are unable to access our servers at this time."

A police officer on the scene said an investigation won't begin until the Fire Department has completely put out the fire.

A fire speaker around 9:15 a.m. indicated that units believe they have a handle on it, but it is not "completely put out."

As of 10 a.m., fire crews were still on the scene checking hot spots.

Check back here later for updates. Until then, take a look at these photos captured from the scene Saturday morning.

Photos by Tim Moran / Patch