Spinnakers Brewpub employees, facing an uncertain future after fire damaged their building, have been told they’ll be paid until the business reopens.
“We sent out an announcement … reassuring everybody that they’re still employed, they’re still getting paid. We’re going to make it work,” said general manager Claire Radosevic.
“Staff have been extremely supportive and understanding,” she said of the 93 employees.
Radosevic said the restaurant will also find a way to compensate servers who rely primarily on tips.
No one was hurt in the fire Wednesday afternoon that forced lunchtime patrons and staff to evacuate the Victoria Harbour restaurant at 308 Catherine St.
Victoria Fire Lt.-Insp. Brad Sifert said the fire started in the hearth of the fireplace on the second floor.
“Over time, ceramic bricks disintegrate, so the heat basically went down and caught the floor on fire under the fireplace,” Sifert said. “And then [the fire] had free run throughout the building.”
It took 22 firefighters 21/2 hours to tackle the blaze, which sent flames through the roof and smoke billowing across Vic West. The building has been through several renovations, which made the fire harder to isolate.
Sifert said the restaurant uses the fireplace more often than a typical household, which is why the fire-stopping eroded.
“It’s accidental, they couldn’t have seen something like this happening,” he said.
The building is structurally sound, Sifert said, and damage is estimated at $300,000.
Most of the fire damage is to the roof and top floor, with smoke and water damage to the main floor. Guesthouses and an artisan shop were not affected.
Craft beer lovers loyal to the first brewpub in Canada will be relieved to hear that the beer stock and brewing equipment were not affected by the fire.
“We have power up and running to our brewery, which was untouched,” Radosevic said. “We’ll be brewing beer as soon as possible.”
Spinnakers sells its beer to liquor stores across Greater Victoria.
Spinnakers sits on the site of a guesthouse built in 1884.
Before the pub’s opening on May 15, 1984, it was illegal to brew and serve beer on the premises but Spinnakers’ founders lobbied to have federal regulations changed, according to Joe Wiebe, author of Craft Beer Revolution and co-founder of Victoria Beer Week.
Wiebe first visited Spinnakers in 1992 after moving to Victoria from Ontario and it remains one of his favourite spots.
“Beyond the history and importance of the role it plays in the craft beer revolution, it’s just a really nice pub,” he said.
Spinnakers was an early leader in the slow food movement, Wiebe said, placing a reliance on products from Vancouver Island farms.
“The brewing community and the community of beer lovers is really strong here so I’m sure people will rally behind it,” Wiebe said.
