ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A fire broke out this evening at local restaurant 131 Main in Biltmore Park, bringing emergency response vehicles to the area.
The fire occurred around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 4 at 131 Main, 308 Thetford St., Asheville, N.C.
Restaurant employees and patrons gathered outside while the Asheville Fire Department, Skyland Fire-Rescue and local police responded to the emergency.
According to Sue Peterson, a regular of the restaurant, she and her party were dining when they heard an “explosion.”
“We heard what we thought was thunder. It turns out it was an explosion. Things didn’t smell right. We understand it’s a fire in the kitchen,” Peterson said.
According to the restaurant patron, it took around three minutes for fire fighters to arrive at the scene, while restaurant staff evacuated the “nearly full” restaurant immediately.
“It was very fast,” Peterson said. “We were told it was best to get out, and we did. We grabbed our food and our wine and left.”
Peterson said that management handled the situation well and that meals were to be paid for on the honor system.
“In our case, we are regulars here,” Peterson said. “We’ll pay them for whatever we ate.”
131 Main management declined to comment on the incident.
This story is developing.