TOLEDO, Ohio — A popular south Toledo restaurant will likely be closed for several months after a fire on Friday evening.
Evidence of the fire lined the parking lot behind restaurant on Sunday; fire damaged chairs, tables, and other restaurant supplies, waiting to be hauled away to the dump.
The Glendale Garden Café is a family restaurant on Glendale Ave. near Walmart, that serves breakfast food and a selection of sandwiches and salads they refer to as “simple, fresh American dining”.
A week after the fire, the owners of the restaurant told WTOL 11 they will be expanding the hours at their sister restaurant, the Reynolds Garden Café.
Owner Candi Ilgin says they are doing so to make sure their displaced employees are able to keep working.
"We want to keep the employees working, and the employees want to keep working. They want to come in. They want to serve their customers. They don't want to sit at home," said Ilgin. "They don't want to collect money/unemployment. They want to work. So by being able to extend the hours here at Reynolds, we're able to give the Glendale crew an opportunity to do what they love, which is serve the customers."
Reynolds Garden Café will now be open from Wednesday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
According to the restaurant, an electrical fire started after business hours in the bar/dining area.
This is the Glendale Garden Café's second location. Their first location was near the Kroger on Detroit and Glendale. They were there for over a decade.
The business moved to the current location in 2018.
The owners say many of the Glendale Garden’s regular customers went to Reynolds Garden Café on the morning after the fire.
Both restaurants have identical menus.
“If you went to Glendale Garden and could order the same thing at Reynolds Garden and it’s going to taste the exact same way,” said general manager Nick Emmenecker.
Emmenecker says they are grateful for the community’s support after the fire.
“We’re not accepting donations. The biggest donation would be to support us at Reynolds Garden Café,” said Emmenecker. “Seeing the turnout today was awesome and it shows that people really care about the restaurants and the owners.”
Reynolds Garden is open from 6:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 6 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Reynolds Garden Cafe is on Reynolds Rd. just north of Airport Hwy.
MORE FROM WTOL: