RSS
April 27, 2008
Off Vine Restaurant 'Heavily Damaged in Aggressive Firefight'
"I was very shocked to be walking down the street and seeing what happend to Off Vine," Robert Gross-Herndon, an LAist Reader, said in an e-mail when sharing the above photo. He says it was one of his favorite Hollywood hideaways and that he will miss it, especially the raspberry pancakes.
Update: More photos and a witness report from inside the restaurant can be found here.
A fire reported at the address of Off Vine Restaurant on Leland Ave. in Hollywood has left the building with heavy fire damage after a 34 minute aggressive firefight, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. At 5:20 p.m., a cell phone call prompted 86 firefighters to respond to the blaze, which was originally reported to be at a single family home, but later corrected as a home converted-to-restaurant.
Despite the high ambient temperature and highly compartmentalized nature of the building, no injuries were sustained. Firefighters had to do a lot of saw work and pulling of ceilings to successfully knockdown the fire.
Humphrey said it appears that the wine collection in the basement may have suffered little damage, but since the the establishment is a restaurant, the LA County Health Department will have the final say when Off Vine can reopen.
Off Vine is located at 6263 Leland Ave. in Hollywood | View Larger Map
Photo from inside the restaurant by jslander via Flickr
| 
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
add to del.icio.us
[ report this ]
I was eating here with my family and friends for the first time after attending the play Wicked. The waiter had cleared our plates and we heard commotion on in the kitchen. I asked what was happening and was told there was a fire upstairs. We were seated in the table closest to the kitchen in the back and as we looked up towards the stairway which was beside us, we could see that it was totally engulfed in flames. You could feel the heat taking over. It was scary how fast the fire engulfed the upstairs. The saddest thing about this was that no one warned the cooks about the fire. The waiters all ran out and had time to get their backpacks but not to tell the cooks to get out!! Sheeesh! The parking valet next to the restaurant had to run in the back to get them out!!!!!
[ report this ]
What a shame. I love this restaurant and the house that it is in is so beautiful.
[ report this ]
How sad for Off Vine. I hope they reopen. I'm glad to hear everyone made it out safely, though.
[ report this ]
Very sad. My wife's company Christmas party was held there in 2006. Great place. Glad no one was injured.
[ report this ]
third guy in from the left w/ the backpack is my friend, tom, who is a waiter at the restaurant. so glad no one got hurt. best wishes to the owner on re-opening, though the loss of the old craftsman is a shame.
[ report this ]
So sorry to see this! I'm glad no one was injured including the firefighters. I hope they recover from this quickly. I really love this little gem!
[ report this ]
Hi, this is in response to bysander's post above. I was a waiter at Off Vine the night of the fire. I personally told the cooks to turn off the stoves and get out of the restaurant, even before telling the guests that there was a fire. Three waiters and the owner were the last people out of the building. You shouldn't make such a rash and irresponsible statement without knowing what was going on inside the building - which you obviously did not. You did a real disservice to the Off Vine owners and their employees.