Fire at Park Plaza Diner in Brooklyn Heights

By on August 4, 2012 7:15 pm in Brooklyn Heights

From Twitter: @sarahboatright tweeted this evening that there’s a fire at the Park Plaza Diner. She reports that FDNY is on the scene. Update:The situation now appears to be under control.

More photos and a dramatic before/after shot after the jump. (photo: @sarahboatright)

BHB reader “Sarah Jane” sent us these before and after shots of the blaze. In cases like this, where the fire starts quickly but is put out as fast, it’s believed to be grease related.

Share this Story:
  • hicksanthrope

    Wow, I saw it from the street and I thought the tower next to it was on fire. Cant believe the flames. Glad nobody got hurt!!!!

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/13189502@N02/ Eddyenergizer

    Eventually 35 years of grease accumulations is bound to take its toll.

  • David on Middagh

    I understand that Broadway had the same problem…

  • AEB

    Passing by yesterday saw the back boarded up but biz as usual up front…..

  • Heightsman

    13 year resident here and that place is gross. Last straw was many years ago during brunch when a mouse ran across the dining room. That was it for me. Who goes there these days?

  • Mr. Crusty

    “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded” -Yogi Berra

  • yoohoo

    Had heard a “rumor” that the place was going to close. A fire is not an unknown pretext to follow through.

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    The food is awful. Ate there once and never again.

  • Andrew Porter

    I’m pretty sure the fire is NOT grease related. I walked by there Thursday en route to the Post Office, and the back of the restaurant was sealed off from the front with plywood. The rear door on Pineapple Walk was open and there were work men outside, and a scaffold hanging from the roof precisely at the location that, from the photo, was involved in the fire.

    I believe they were working on the roof and side of the building, and something caught on fire. Possibly they were using a heat gun or something that would easily catch fire, perhaps roofing materials?

  • Hangin’OnClark

    Awful food? You’re crazy! Park Plaza is exactly what a diner is supposed to be. I’m sure some of their dishes aren’t good, but for breakfast or a burger, you just can’t go wrong.

    Not to mention they have the best french fries.

  • She’s Crafty

    I have heard that they lease the property from 75 Henry, which has not committed to renewing their lease and that is why they have not made any upgrades to the bathrooms etc. It’s a family owned business since the get go and very popular with the courts etc.

  • Knight

    The back of the restaurant was boarded up much earlier in the week because they are undergoing renovations that had nothing to do with the fire. The back door was open and the workmen were there, as Andrew Porter noted, because the renovations are continuing as scheduled. As you can see in the photo, the fire was in an exhaust fan on the roof of the restaurant. It was not a kitchen or grease fire. The restaurant had some smoke & water damage but no real fire damage … and most importantly, no one was hurt. It will probably be several days before they re-open, while they settle with their insurance carrier, replace the exhaust fan, and clean the place up.

  • bhres

    you know they have/had a C rating from DOHMH? absolutely won’t eat there.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/13189502@N02/ Eddyenergizer

    Knight thanks for proving my (obvious) assumption that it was a grease fire. In a restaurant, the kitchen exhaust system is exactly where most of the grease collects and is most prone to fire. That is why commercial kitchen exhausts are required to have built in fire suppression systems.

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    bhres,
    How does anyone stay in business with a C rating?
    I won’t even eat in a restaurant that has a B rating.

  • PB

    My wife and I eat there at least once a week. The food is always excellent and well prepared, and the place is clean. Not to mention the friendliness of the staff….they are the best.

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    PB,
    You will be happy to know that the Plaza Diner is now rated a B as of April, 2011. Prior to that, they were a C.

  • Mr. Crusty

    Whats a little mouse droppings among friends?

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    Mr. Crusty,
    Way to go! My sentiments exactly.

  • hicksanthrope

    Ugh.. that place was a mess but the owners were so nice to us. Wish they would have kept it cleaner. We would have gone back.

  • http://n/a Barbara Shernoff

    Heightsman–in answer to your question-“Who goes there”?

    Park Plaza Diner does a brisk business with juries from the local courts and court employees. Tour buses also bring their passengers to the Diner. Alot of patrons are people from other neighborhoods close by. If the Diner had to depend mostly on Heights patronage, it would have gone out of business a long time ago.

  • marty

    Heard they were planning on fixing the place up before the fire thats why it was boarded up in the back. Can’t wait to see what it will look like!