OLMSTED TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A popular sports bar that’s been in Olmsted Township for more than 14 years is all boarded up after a fire caused Fat Little Buddies owner Joe O’Malley to temporarily close his business.
But through the ashes and rubble, O’Malley said his hope is still alive thanks to the community's support, where a GoFundMe has been created on behalf of the bar and restaurant staff.
“The amount of support that has come through to all of us today is something that I never really experienced,” said O’Malley.
In a statement from Olmsted Township Fire Department, crews responded to the fire around 3 a.m. Thursday.
“It was late enough that I knew nobody would be here, but you don’t know what you’re going to be walking into,” said O’Malley.
Fortunately, O’Malley told News 5 that no one was there to get hurt, and the damage wasn’t as bad as he imagined, thanks to the fire department’s quick and aggressive response.
But officials said firefighters did encounter a well-involved fire that extended to the roof.
“It’s confined to an area that we call the house kitchen. We really don’t cook in there,” explained O’Malley. “We have these two doors on each end of the area where the fire started which confined it luckily.”
While O’Malley is optimistic their doors won’t be closed too long since he said the fire happened in an area with the least impact, he and his landlord, Bill Calabrase, are preparing themselves for the journey ahead.
“It’s a setback for them and me,” said Calabrase. “Nobody knows how long they’re going to be closed down.”
As the investigation continues, the community has already started rallying behind O’Malley and his staff by raising more than $8,000 through a GoFundMe Tom Cole said his daughter started.
“It’s a sad day, and I’m going to miss running into everybody that we see here, but hopefully, they’re going to be able to rebuild, and we can have the family back together again,” said Cole.
O’Malley said he didn’t see a lot of damage, so he’s hopeful he can reopen his doors as soon as Aug. 7.
