The owners of Michael’s Italian Restaurant are taking time to “process everything” while Niagara Falls investigators looking into the cause of the Saturday night’s fire.
Michael’s posted this message on its Facebook page Sunday:
To our community:
Last night, our beloved restaurant of 61 years experienced a devastating fire. Michael Capizzi started this iconic family restaurant in 1966. While the loss is heartbreaking, we are beyond grateful to the incredible firefighters, emergency personnel and all who responded swiftly and worked tirelessly to extinguish the fire, their work and effort was nothing short of amazing and we are forever grateful.
As we begin to process this loss, please know that our thoughts are also with our staff and the community who have supported us for so long.
To everyone who has reached out, thank you. Your kind words, memories, and support mean the world to us. Right now, we’re taking time to process everything, and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate the emotional days ahead.
With gratitude,
The Michaels Family
Niagara Falls police and firefighters were called to the business at 3011 Pine Ave. around 9 p.m. Saturday. Responding officers said heavy smoke was coming from the business with visible fire in the rear of the building near the kitchen area.
Firefighters entered through the rear of the business and extinguished the fire.
At least two firefighters were evaluated by AMR for heat exhaustion on Saturday night.
The business had closed a short time before the fire was reported.
An estimate of damage has not been released.