Jilly’s Cafe and Steakhouse, 1630 Gravois Road, in High Ridge was significantly damaged by a fire late Monday afternoon (Jan. 24). The fire is considered suspicious, High Ridge Fire Protection District Capt. John Barton said.
The restaurant is closed on Mondays, so no one was inside when the fire started, authorities reported.
Barton said the fire started on the outside of the rear of the building, but as of today (Jan. 25), the cause was undetermined. He also said the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is investigating the fire.
After the fire started, it traveled up the wall into the attic space. The sprinkler system in the attic turned on and helped contain the fire, Barton said.
Crews were dispatched to the fire at 4:39 p.m. after several people called 911 and reported seeing smoke from the road, and wen crews left Station 2, they could see the smoke from the fire house, Barton said.
He said firefighters arrived on the scene at 4:41 p.m. and had the fire under control by 5:17 p.m. They left the scene at 11:39 p.m.
Jilly’s opened in 2006, and Lisa and Danny Bundy of High Ridge have owned it for the past four years.
Lisa said she was in the shower when she heard the news after someone called Danny and told him.
“A friend of ours who passed by the restaurant (called Danny), and he frantically ran upstairs screaming,” she said. “I thought someone was hurt because of the way he was acting.”
Lisa and Danny rushed to the restaurant after that, she said.
“The water damage is the most significant,” she said. “The ceilings caved into the bar of the kitchen.”
Lisa said the roof was structurally damaged, too.
She said the restaurant is closed and she doesn’t know if and when it might reopen.
“Obviously, for our employees and customers, we want to open back up, and we hope to be able to open back up and come back strong, but we just don't know yet,” she said.
Barton said the other two businesses in the building, Rikki’s Hair Studio and Rock Shop, did not have any damage but are closed until the building can be evaluated.
The Rock Community, Saline Valley, Fenton and Valley Park fire protection districts helped with the call. The North Jefferson County Ambulance District also responded to the scene.