Bella Italia destroyed by fire

An early-morning fire destroyed a landmark downtown restaurant Saturday. At 5:25 a.m., Cape Girardeau firefighters were dispatched to Bella Italia restaurant at 20 N. Spanish St. where they found smoke and flames pouring from the windows.

Battalion chief Bob Kembel said the fire apparently started from improperly discarded smoking materials in the bar area at the front of the building.

"They were emptying ashtrays into garbage cans," Kembel said. "One of them must have had a hot cigarette and it smoldered for most of the night."

Bella Italia owner Mark Dirnberger was waiting for a lumber delivery around noon Saturday to board up the windows and secure the building. He said he had spent most of the early morning hours sitting on the curb across the street watching firefighters put the fire out.

"It's the most helpless feeling in the world," he said. "There's not a thing you can do."

Dirnberger stood in the front entrance and surveyed what was left of the restaurant. Wicker bread baskets in the front were charred black. Smoke damage and ashes covered bottles and glassware.

"It blew the corks out of the wine bottles," he said.

He said looking at the charred remains of the restaurant reminded him of seeing ghosts in a haunted house.

"I keep thinking about all the happy people, the close relationships we've built," he said.

Dirnberger said he was supposed to have catered a small wedding Saturday evening. He said he told the bride's mother he would do what he could for her, but she said she could probably make do.

"She said, 'You have more on your mind right now than I do,'" he said.

Dirnberger said after the fire department left, he looked in the building for anything he could save, but all appears to be lost. He consoled distraught employees who had come by once they heard about the fire. He said about 40 people work for him at the Italian restaurant. Neighboring business owners dropped by to offer support.

"A lot of store owners have lent a helping hand," he said. "We're a tight-knit group down here. One of us gets in a bad situation, the rest of us pretty much jump in."

None of the neighboring businesses were damaged beyond light smoke damage, Kembel said. No one was injured.

John Wyman of Cape Girardeau owns the building. Kembel said the damage is estimated at $80,000 for the structure. Between the structure, the value of the contents and the lost income, he said the total amount of damage could exceed $100,000.

Dirnberger said he plans to rebuild. Once the insurance company has inspected and settled with him, he said it may take two or three months to put another Italian restaurant in place. Bella Italia opened in 2002, and Dirnberger bought the business from Wyman in October 2003.

Kembel said the building seems to be structurally sound for rebuilding.

No one knows who noticed the fire and called it in. Kembel said it may have been a police officer on patrol or a passer-by who noticed smoke and reported it. All firefighters on duty responded to the call. Jackson sent a ladder truck, and Scott City sent an engine and a four-man crew. All off-duty city firefighters came in to man the fire stations, Kembel said.

"The best part is we stopped it where it was, there were no injuries and we all came home safe and sound," Kembel said.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160