Horrible news from the Mission this morning: charming French bistro Chez Spencer was gutted by a two-alarm fire last night. According to ABC7, the fire broke out around 1:30 am, and given the semi-industrial block and the late hour, burned for quite some time before a neighbor saw it and phoned it in. It's estimated that there was more than $1.5 million in damage to the restaurant and its two neighboring buildings, one of which is an apartment building. The cause of the fire remains unknown. We'll update this post as we learn more about the extent of the damage and when Chez Spencer might reopen.
Chef/owner Laurent Katgely took to Twitter to confirm the blaze:
There was a fire at Chez Spencer this morning and we will keep you posted on when we will be back open. Thanks for your support.
— laurent katgely (@chezspencergo) May 31, 2013
This is the sixth fire to rock the Bay Area restaurant community in the past three weeks, and the third in the Mission (the other two were at Thai House 530/We Be Sushi and Little Baobab). Forbes Island in Fisherman's Wharf and Genny's BBQ and Merritt Restaurant & Bakery in Oakland have also suffered blazes. And of course, Chez Panisse is recovering from its big fire back in March. Please, folks, be careful out there.