St. Clair Shores restaurant catches fire

Gilbert's Lodge was under renovations at time of fire

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. – For the second time in seven months, a fire has damaged a popular St. Clair Shores restaurant.

Firefighters were called to Gilbert's Lodge around 4 a.m. Thursday to extinguish flames.

"The fire appears to have originated sort of in the mechanical room, which would be the southwest corner," said St. Clair Shores Fire Chief George Morehouse.

Morehouse said the restaurant has been under renovations since it caught fire in October. He said he had heard the restaurant was planning on reopening in two weeks.

"My fire marshal has been right on it. They've made a lot of improvements as far as suppression, alarm systems, but unfortunately, that wasn't all turned on yet," he said. "It's pretty devastating to the owners."

No one was hurt.

When asked if he thought the fire was suspicious, Morehouse said, "We don't know yet. It makes your hair stand up a little bit because of the timeframe."

Morehouse called the restaurant a "footprint" in the city.

"It's been around here longer than me, so it's been around a long time," he said.