Fundraiser Started to Help Restaurant Workers After Fire

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An online fundraiser is under way to help sustain employees out of work after one Silver Spring restaurant was destroyed in a fire and three more were damaged.

More than 100 firefighters were called to the two-alarm blaze March 19 at the Quarry House Tavern, 8401 Georgia Ave. The fire destroyed the Bombay Gaylord Indian restaurant and also damaged the Mandarin Chinese restaurant and Kefa Café.

The fire’s cause was likely an electrical problem.

Total damage was estimated at $750,000 to $1 million.

An IndieGoGo online campaign is urging residents to help the 17 Quarry House Tavern employees who are now out of work. The site says:

Whether you came for the tater tots, the beers, or some fine whiskey, the staff was always there for us. When snow shut down Silver Spring, Quarry House staff would stay in local hotels to be there for us. When the Quarry House started to fill with smoke, it was the staff who evacuated the bar and got everyone to safety. The staff is an integral part of what makes Quarry House a staple in Silver Spring,so join us in giving back to them and donate what you can.

The campaign has a goal of $30,000; so far about $6,000 has been donated.

Lene Tsegaye, co-owner of Kefa Cafe, located behind Bombay Gaylord, told Montgomery Community Media the coffee shop will be closed for about two weeks. She said residents have come to the business asking “what they could do to help” get the shop repaired and open again.

A dozen residents were displaced by the fire. They were living above the Mandarin, which was not zoned for residential occupancy, the media site says.

»Photos courtesy of MCFRS Twitter feed

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