What’s next for Steilacoom’s Topside bar, coffee shop after fire?

A month after a fire broke out in the kitchen of Topside Bar and Grill in Steilacoom, the restaurant, coffee shop and wine bar remain closed, but the owners vow a comeback.

“It’s just a matter of time,” John O’Reilly, who owns the 14-year-old business with his wife Niki, said in a phone call last week.

From the street, the building at 215 Wilkes St. looks to be in fine condition, but repairs on the inside likely will involve tearing out the floor and walls to ensure everything from pipes to electrical panels are in safe, working order. Much of the damage appears to have been caused by water used by firefighting crews to stem the blaze.

The official cause of the fire, which started around 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 23 as kitchen staff was finalizing prep for Tuesday lunch service, remains under investigation. Emily Tencer, spokesperson for West Pierce Fire & Rescue, told The News Tribune last week that preliminary findings show that it was likely accidental, and no one was injured.

The fire began in and was “mainly contained” to the kitchen, funneling through the air duct and out the exit point on the roof of the two-story structure, she added. Crews kept the fire from spreading to nearby buildings and had it fully contained it by 12:30 p.m.

Topside’s restaurant and main kitchen are located on the second floor. No customers were in the dining room at the time, but the first-floor cafe had opened as usual at 7 a.m.

Topside Coffee Cabin has become such a daytime hub that even Steilacoom mayor Dick Muri was there having a cup that morning. He was sitting upstairs, he wrote in a Facebook post, “when we were instructed to evacuate due to a fire.” A Steilacoom police officer “rushed in with a large fire extinguisher,” he continued, and within minutes crews from West Pierce Fire arrived.

Muri estimated that about 40 customers scurried out of the building and into the street. He said the town, which also shared images of the fire on Facebook that day, would “do everything we can to expedite any necessary inspections or permits for reopening.”

That process has moved along quickly, O’Reilly told The News Tribune on Oct. 16.

“It’s beautiful that the good things of being small are there,” he said. “They understood the impact that we both have on each other.”

They received a demolition permit soon after, which has allowed some of their 45 employees to assist and receive some payment up to 60 days, according to a GoFund Me that the manager launched to support staff. Others have applied for unemployment insurance, while just a few decided they needed to move into a new job, said O’Reilly. Some employees don’t qualify for unemployment or it might only reflect part of their regular wages, according to the GoFundMe, which has raised more than $16,000 of a $20,000 goal.

Topside plans to rebuild

O’Reilly praised the West Pierce Fire for its swift response and the various government agencies involved. Beyond the fire investigation, the business awaits formal updates from the state Department of Labor and Industries and Puget Sound Energy.

Importantly, he noted, the wine bar, which is housed in a separate building from the restaurant and coffee shop, was not affected by the fire. They are working with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department to ideally reopen each facet in phases.

Aside from the loss of revenue and work for their staff — and of a community hangout — “I’m really actually excited on where we are and where we could’ve been,” said O’Reilly. They were unable to access the building for two days, and sometimes post-fire access can take weeks.

The only area they haven’t yet been able to touch is the kitchen, as authorities and insurance companies complete their investigations. O’Reilly said they are hopeful that gas and electrical power can be restored this week.

Meanwhile, they don’t want to lose their connection to the community.

Since about 2017 they have offered free pumpkins to be carved and displayed on a multi-tiered shelf outside the coffee cabin. That tradition will carry on, albeit in slightly different form: On Oct. 25, they plan to have 100 or so pumpkins available, plus free cider and hot cocoa.

They also had a Small Business Saturday market scheduled for Nov. 29, just after Thanksgiving, with 25 vendors registered — more than any previous year, said O’Reilly. “We are still trying to figure out how to do it,” he added, but they have every intention of finding a way.

They might even brush off an old food trailer Topside had used during the pandemic — a couple of employees have already embarked on the process to recertify it for foodservice.

O’Reilly encouraged customers to follow their Facebook and Instagram pages for updates. Both the initial fire post and a status-check on Oct. 1 received nearly 900 reactions.

“We have had many inquiries over the last week asking when we expect to reopen. It’s been incredibly overwhelming,” they wrote in October. “We wish we had an answer. We would LOVE to be open, but between the water and smoke damage, we have a lot of work to do! Thank you in advance for your patience. It will be several months before we can open our doors again, and we are looking forward to inviting you all back inside soon.”