A West Sixth Street restaurant is closed indefinitely after a devastating fire severely damaged its building over the weekend.
The fire at Bar Peached broke out early Sunday morning after the restaurant had closed for the night, owner Eric Silverstein told the Austin American-Statesman in an email.
According to Silverstein, firefighters arrived between 6:30 and 6:45 a.m. No one was inside the building at the time, and no injuries were reported. The Austin Fire Department got the fire under control around 6:50 a.m. before scaling back its response while crews remained on scene to extinguish lingering hot spots.
The fire caused extensive damage throughout the restaurant, leaving it unable to operate.
“The entire kitchen is beyond repair,” Silverstein said. “The entire upstairs dining room is also likely beyond repair.”
Silverstein told the Statesman the restaurant’s roof was heavily damaged, with a large hole burned through it. He attributed the fire to a compressor in a two-door reach-in refrigerator.
Bar Peached, located in Old West Austin, is an Asian-Southern fusion restaurant operated by the team behind Peached Tortilla and Peached Social House.
The restaurant does not yet have a timeline for reopening, and the team is still assessing the full extent of the damage. “We are currently trying to determine if anything inside the building is salvageable,” Silverstein said. “A large portion of the building will need to be rebuilt.”
Silverstein said a timeline for reopening will depend on insurance assessments and construction needs.
“Best-case scenario, we would be open in a year, but it’s very possible it could be longer and nothing is guaranteed,” he said.
For those looking to support the business, Silverstein encouraged customers to visit the restaurant group’s other concepts while Bar Peached remains closed.