SANDY, Utah — The owners of a restaurant in Sandy are picking up the pieces after their grill caught fire this week. No one was hurt, but they are thankful for all the help that’s making it possible for them to possibly reopen on Friday.
“It was pretty bad, how it looked and everything,” explained Jorge Serodio, co-owner of Libertango Steakhouse, an Argentinian restaurant that opened in December 2022. “Even though there wasn’t a lot of property damage, the fire — especially the smoke — did a lot here.”
An accessory on the grill at Libertango Steakhouse in Sandy caught fire early Wednesday morning. Even though the damage was contained to one area, the restaurant was closed on Wednesday while they cleaned up and figured things out. They are still able to use the grill, but without the automation system which started the fire.
“A fire broke out under our grill," said co-owner Mike Thatcher. "Our grill is made for the fire, but we have all of the firewood stored beneath and so that firewood ignited. The control box down there had an issue, it ignited that wood, and then it just burned and burned."
Serodio and Thatcher said that even before they found out about the fire, the restaurant’s fire suppression system notified Sandy City so fire crews were there around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning. The owners say this fire could have been a lot worse than what it was, so they have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season.
“Super grateful first off for Sandy City Fire for their amazing response and for handling that and taking care of the fire so it didn’t spread,” said Thatcher.
The owners thought they may have to be shut down for months for restoration and repairs, but instead, their community stepped in to clean up and make the restaurant functional again.
“A lot of people, friends, family, people that were passing by and they wanted to help. What we were able to do in one day, or half a day, was amazing. The restaurant right now doesn’t look like it had a fire, a substantial fire like that, so I’m very grateful for everybody that came and helped,” said Serodio.
Serodio’s family started their restaurant in 2005 in Brazil. He wanted to bring his culture here, so opened this restaurant last December.
“It means everything to me, so it’s very important to me to see the restaurant up and running," he said
They hope to continue serving customers starting Friday and are grateful for the people who made this happen.
“You can count on your community to help. I was overwhelmed by the help that we got,” said Serodio.
