Fire damages Martintown Restaurant

(Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston, File)

MARTINTOWN – A restaurant in the village has sustained significant damage to part of its building after a fire late Thursday night.

South Glengarry firefighters were called around 10:30 p.m. to the Martintown Restaurant at 18526 Dundas Street in Martintown.

In an interview with Cornwall Newswatch, Fire Chief Dave Robertson says the kitchen area of the building has significant damage.

“The kitchen area sustained significant damage. The restaurant sustained heat and smoke damage,” Robertson said.

There are accommodations upstairs, which the chief described as “second floor rooms,” but he said they were not being used at the time.

Pictures on social media showed flames going up the outside of the building, consuming a window frame and siding.

Robertson was on scene Friday morning for an investigation, along with SD&G O.P.P., to determine a cause. It’s expected to take at least a couple of days. “Our on site investigation will take the day today, and follow up investigation will be a number of days,” Robertson said.

Firefighters from the Lancaster, Williamstown and Martintown stations worked at the scene for about six hours – until 4:30 a.m. today (Friday).

There were no injuries.

Martintown Restaurant, which had planned to open its patio today as part of phase two of coronavirus reopening, posted on its Facebook page that it will be closed until further notice. “I’ll be doing everything I can to reopen as fast as I can,” the restaurateur said.