When Mike Hanley got a call from the Northfield Police Department at 2 a.m. Sunday morning, he thought a door was left open or a light left on at his restaurant, Ciao Pasta. Instead, the police told Hanley the restaurant, which sits just off Interstate 93 on Park Street in Northfield, was on fire.
So, Hanley and his wife and co-owner, Diane, left their Plymouth home and headed south. On the way, they watched a live video of the fire on Facebook. By the time they arrived, the roof was collapsing and the basement was filling with water as firefighters fought to get the fire under control.
No one was hurt and no other buildings were damaged, including the Park & Go Market, which is only about 10 feet away from Ciao Pasta.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Capt. Jonathan Powell of the Tilton-Northfield Fire Department, who said that the building is a total loss. Powell also said the fire was phoned in by a caller on a cellphone โwho smelled or saw the smoke from Cumberland Farms, drove down road to investigate and then found the fire.โ
The Hanleys returned home to Plymouth around 4:30 a.m., but the phone started ringing a few hours later with concerned family, friends and associates, so Mike drove back to Ciao Pasta.
โEvery five seconds people were coming by, well wishes, or a couple guys who were like, โWe just ate their last night,โ things like that,โ Hanley, 67, said. โThe outpouring was unbelievable, so it was a pretty emotional day.โ
Hanley opened Ciao Pasta in Franklin in 2007; he opened the Northfield location in 2012 and then closed the Franklin location in 2013. The Northfield location could seat 85 people.
When the coronavirus pandemic shut down many restaurants in March, Ciao Pasta stayed open by continuing to offer take out dining. Hanley didnโt add outdoor dining tables, but he re-opened for indoor dining on June 15, the first day it was allowed in New Hampshire.
โWeโre still doing too much take out, but if we didnโt have it, weโd be in big trouble,โ Hanley said. โBut we have a lot of regular customers who have been supporting us, and weโve developed a pretty good reputation, and Iโd still say that sales from this year are still anywhere from 80-90 percent of what they were last year, so thatโs pretty good.โ
Hanley and Bob Kidder, who owns the building that housed Ciao Pasta as well as the Park & Go Market, will wait to hear from the fire marshal โ who Hanley expected will investigate the scene Monday โ and their insurance adjustors before deciding what to do next. But Hanleyโs gut reaction is to rebuild and reopen so he can re-establish the value of the restaurant.
โI feel like itโs a no-brainer. I have to reopen,โ Hanley said. โAll of the goodwill and business weโve done for the last 13 years has a value, but not if youโre closed.โ