Chattanooga Firefighters respond to a kitchen fire at the BrewHaus off of Frazier Avenue on Jan. 22, 2015. According to spokesman Bruce Garner, the fire was put out with dry extinguishers and there were no injuries. Five weeks after a fire destroyed the kitchen of the Brewhaus Bar on Chattanooga's North Shore, the German-style restaurant and tavern reopened Friday.
Hunter Hart, owner of the Frazier Avenue eatery, said the kitchen was totally redone after a morning grease fire that started in a restaurant fryer on Jan. 22 damaging most of the restaurant's cooking area.
"We basically did an overhaul of the entire kitchen," he said. "While we were doing that, to keep our staff busy and earning some money, we came up with a bunch of projects like redoing our planters and picnic tables and other projects."
The upgrade of the 75-seat restaurant has not changed the menu or broad array of beers offered, however.
"There's a little-fresher paint, the tables are a little newer and we've got new equipment and a ceiling in the kitchen, but it's still the same Brewhaus," he said. "I didn't think it would take this long to get everything done, but at the end of the day it was done the right way and I'd much rather do it all at one time and take the extra time to make sure it is done right."
Fire insurance has helped pay for the repairs of the restaurant, which originally opened in September 2011, Hart said.
The entire 24-employee staff has stayed with the restaurant, due in part to help from other bars and downtown merchants who helped out during the restaurant shutdown, Hart said.
"This is a tough thing to go through, but Chattanooga pulled together and really helped us out," he said. "We're glad to be back open and looking for a big weekend and a better rest of 2015."
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6340.