Historic Wichita restaurant damaged by early morning fire will be closed 2 to 3 weeks
A historic Wichita restaurant will be closed for at least two or three weeks after an early-morning fire on Wednesday damaged a back storage room and took out the building’s electricity.
Paul Cohlmia, owner of Riverside Cafe, said that he was awakened early on Wednesday to news that the back of his cafe at 739 W. 13th St. was on fire.
The fire, which neighbors filmed burning intensely around 4:45 a.m., left a blackened, sooty mess in the back of the building but did no damage to the dining room, Cohlmia said Wednesday.
He spent the morning and early afternoon Wednesday assessing the damage. It could have been worse, he said, though the fire did take out the power for the entire building, which also includes a business called La Catrino Caro next door. That business shared on Facebook on Wednesday that it would be closed until further notice.
Cohlmia said he believed the fire was caused by an electrical problem.
Neighbors reported hearing an explosion and then sirens from responding fire trucks. One who lives nearby caught video footage of the blaze.
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Cohlmia’s other two Riverside Cafes, at 9125 W. Central and at 824 N. Baltimore in Derby, are still operating as normal, he said.
The Riverside Cafe building, which is near North High School, is one of the oldest still-operating restaurant spaces in Wichita. It opened as West-Urn Cafe in 1946 and has also operated over the years as Ed’s Cafe and Dick and Jayne’s.
Cohlmia said he’ll need time to get the restaurant cleaned and repaired. I’ll keep you posted on a reopening date.
This story was originally published June 16, 2021 at 2:09 PM.
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