The Mia’s Table restaurant in Upper Kirby caught fire before the restaurant opened on Sunday, according to its owner and the Houston Fire Department.
The building at 3131 Argonne was still standing, and no one was injured, HFD District Chief Darrin Nielsen said. Owner Johnny Carrabba said the fire started over the restaurant’s fryers — a blaze that can spread into the building’s ductwork.
“I’m just grateful that everybody’s OK,” Carrabba said in a briefing that OnSceneTV recorded. “We can always fix a building.”
It was unclear what the fire would mean for the restaurant’s immediate schedule. No one from the restaurant immediately responded to a request for information.
Mia’s Table has been open for 14 years and has eight locations in the Houston area.
Carrabba, a restaurateur who also owns Carrabba’s and Grace’s in Upper Kirby, said no customers had arrived when the fire broke out. He said the initial news about the fire was panic-invoking but that he was relieved no employees were hurt.
“Probably they’re worrying about how long will we be closed, and I told them, I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to pay you,'” he said before chuckling. “That’s a lie. I take care of my people because they’re my family.”
Investigators had yet to confirm the official cause of the fire on Sunday.