Fire knocks out Iowa City’s Hamburg Inn for three weeks or more

The pie shake will have to wait.

Hamburg Inn No. 2 owner Dave Panther said the iconic Iowa City eatery likely will be closed at least a few weeks while damages caused by a Sunday morning fire are repaired.

'I'm thinking it's probably going to be three weeks, minimum,” Panther said Monday. 'That might be a fantasy there. Three to four weeks, plus.”

The Iowa Fire Department responded to the restaurant, 214 N. Linn St., at 1:11 a.m. Sunday. Crews encountered heavy smoke in the first floor of the two-story structure, then put out a fire in the basement.

The upper level is residential space.

In addition to serving pie shakes and breakfast all day, the restaurant has made a name for itself on the national stage for becoming a popular campaign stop for politicians. Hamburg Inn has played host to presidents Ronald Regean and Bill Clinton, then-Senator Barack Obama and many seeking political office. The restaurant was also featured on a episode of The West Wing.

Fire Marshal Brian Greer said it's too early to tell what caused the fire. Investigators were wrapping up interviews on Monday and hoped to determine a cause by midweek.

Greer noted it's not always possible to pinpoint what started a fire.

'We can always find the area of origin, but sometimes the cause eludes us,” Greer said.

Panther said the blaze started near the washer and dryer in the building's basement, but he isn't sure either appliance caused the fire. Shelving containing towels and aprons near the washer and dryer went up in flames, Panther said.

'Where that was located, that's where the real heat was,” Panter said, speculating that spontaneous combustion could be the culprit in the blaze.

Panther said the fire destroyed appliances in the basement, including the washer and dryer, water softener, hot-water heater and ice machine. Beams took on damage, as did the dining room floor.

The fire took out most of the plumbing and electrical wiring in the basement, as well as wiring running up to the dining area. Some smoke reached the dining room and second floor apartments, Panther said.

In addition to replacing the plumbing and electrical work and cleaning up anything that was smoked damaged, Panther said he'll have to replace a portion of the dining room floor.

The fire comes on the heels of what Panther said was the best week ever at the restaurant and one of the eatery's best times of the year.

'We have strong summers,” he said. 'Summer is always good for us.”

A transformer failed during the fire, knocking out power to neighboring businesses, including IC Ugly's and Oasis Falafel, but Panther said power had been restored to those businesses.

Panther said he'll take this opportunity to redo the wallpaper and update some of the memorabilia, such as replacing faded photos and switching from black-and-white pictures to color photos.

Firefighters have estimated the cost of the fire to be approximately $30,000. A fire in 1994 closed the business for three months, Panther said.

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