A fire surged through Takamatsu Restaurant early Tuesday morning, causing $400,000 in damage, forcing the restaurant to shut its doors for at least four months.
Peter Koga, who is part of the family that owns the ravaged restaurant as well as three Takamatsus in Phoenix, was upbeat as he paced behind the restaurant at mid-morning Tuesday.
“I’m a little startled. A little shocked,” said Koga, who operates the Tucson location. “But we have to start from scratch again and get it done. We can’t quit. We’ll be back better and stronger than before.”
Koga said his 40 employees will be out of work until the restaurant can rebuild and re-open — it’s a process his contractor tells him will take four to six months — but expects insurance to cover their pay until Takamatsu is operating again. He also expected insurance to cover the $400,000 in damage.
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The family purchased the 10,500-square-foot restaurant restaurant in 1995. The building seats 229 diners and is divided into rooms for sushi, Korean and teppanyaki.
While making a DUI arrest across the street from the restaurant, a Tucson Police Department officer — who Koga said is one of his regular customers — spotted smoke coming out of the building at 5532 E. Speedway at 3:25 a.m. The Tucson Fire Department had nine units with 30 firefighters on the scene within four minutes and had the fire under control at 3:53 a.m., said Capt. Tricia Tracy, a Tucson Fire Department spokeswoman. Tracy said $300,000 of the damage was to the restaurant’s structure and the rest was damage to the restaurant’s contents.
Investigators determined a gas burner that an employee accidentally left on the night before started the blaze.
“It was just a human error,” Koga said. “Just an oversight.”
Koga was confident that it won’t take long to repair the restaurant, but said he thinks getting the appropriate permits to re-open will be the biggest roadblock to getting back in business.
“The City of Tucson doesn’t hand out permits too easily,” Koga said. “It’s just a process. Hopefully the city is kind enough to let us get going as soon as possible so we can get back on our feet.”
Contact reporter Phil Villarreal at 573-4130 or pvillarreal@azstarnet.com
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