The fire at Veneto Wood Fired Pizza & Pasta at 318 East Avenue in Rochester’s East End may not be visible from the street, but it has caused significant disruption and uncertainty for the popular restaurant and several other businesses.
“I’m still in shock,” Veneto owner Don Swartz said last week.
The fire started in It was in the early morning hours of Jan. 4 that it was caused by an electrical problem in a clothes dryer in the back of the restaurant, Rochester Fire Department Capt. David Abdoch confirmed.
When the firefighters arrived, they encountered flames in several rooms in the Veneto, which they were able to contain and extinguish.
But where there is fire, there is smoke, which spread not only in the restaurant, but also in the neighboring establishments and two apartments.
No one was hurt. One of the apartments was unoccupied, the tenant of the second apartment was able to get out safely on her own, and firefighters rescued the cat, Abodes said.
But, for the time being, all businesses are closed as their owners try to navigate ways forward.
Fire, smoke and water damage in Veneto since 2001.
“My sense is the back half of the building has to come down, it’s too bad,” said Swartz, who bought the restaurant five years ago.
He does not know how long the repair will be completed. They said they will do what they can to expedite the process, but it could take months.
Meanwhile, the East End restaurant has expanded hours at Veneto’s 1308 Buffalo Road, Gates, location to hire 20 or more full- and part-time employees. Starting Jan. 6, Veneto Westside Wood Fired Pizza & Pasta is open seven days a week from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Wednesday and Saturday and Sunday, and noon to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
Rachel Crawford, who opened the business in May 2022, says Akimbo Bookshop, located in leased space above East End Veneto, will never open as a brick-and-mortar store.
The contents of the store, her only source of income, are “unsalvageable” — from books to furniture to supplies — and her business insurance “doesn’t cover even a small percentage of the damage,” she wrote on Facebook, adding, “What might not look so bad on the outside is hurting on the inside.”
Later, in an interview, he said, “People don’t understand how destructive smog is. A black liquid oozes from the wall.
At first, Crawford was able to pull out a small cash box. “I cleaned the hell out of it, but the smell is still there,” she said.
Customers can continue to order books on the Akimbo website, bookshop.org/shop/AkimboBooks.
Crawford has started a GoFundMe campaign to recoup her loss. “I’m doing this alone,” she said.
Along the way, she said that if she could reset Akimbo with a physical location, it would be in a different location.
Studio Lounge opened two months ago at 7 Lawrence St., behind Veneto. Opener Chris Fantauzzo is also dealing with smoke damage.
“I have security camera footage from this morning, and you can see thick black smoke from the floor to the ceiling,” he said.
A professional crew did a thorough cleaning of the top cocktail bar on January 7th and 8th. But when they arrived on the morning of Jan. 9, Fantauzzo said, “the cleaning didn’t do anything.” “Visibly, it’s completely clean, but the smell is still there.”
He expects to have about 30 people on the payroll now, including engineered-wood floors, one wall and upholstered furniture, as well as painting every surface.
“We’re still getting quotes, but we’re looking at probably six to eight weeks to do everything from top to bottom,” he said.
Wall Street, a bar and grill two doors down from Veneto at 330 East Ave., is temporarily closed. Between Veneto and Wall Street is a vacant lot that was formerly home to Morgan’s Cereal Bar.
“No one was hurt. “To me, that’s the most important thing,” Swartz said, reflecting on the incident. That’s how I see it.”
Correspondent Marcia Greenwood covers general operations. Send story suggestions to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter. @MarciaGreenwood.
