Sunday was an eventful night at Pastiche Bistro in Bay View. In the middle of the dinner rush, recounts owner-chef Mike Engel, the hostess noticed the smell of smoke in the dining room.
She booked back to the kitchen. “Do you guys smell anything?” she asked the staff.
Engel sniffed around for the source, heading to the basement of the building (3001 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) with a fire extinguisher. As smoke curled up the stairwell, Engel called 911 and evacuated the restaurant.
Before fire engines arrived, Engel traced the smoke to a spot in back, between the Pastiche building and Blackbird Bar, immediately south. Firefighters quickly took care of the smoke. The Pastiche building sustained some minor damage, but Engel says it will not impede operations.
“The kitchen is operable and intact, and there is no smell, damage or any other evidence of a disturbance in the restaurant proper,” he says, adding that he planned lunch and dinner service to go off without a hitch today.
