4-alarm fire destroys Yorkville landmarks Sotto Sotto and Spuntini Ristorante
Posted December 26, 2014 7:55 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The four-alarm blaze that destroyed two landmark Yorkville restaurants is suspicious, Toronto fire officials said Friday.
The Ontario Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate after fire destroyed the building that housed Sotto Sotto and Spuntini Ristorante on Thursday night.
“The restaurant had been closed for the holidays, so police are investigating now as well there’s video surveillance at the rear of the building hopefully we can determine the cause,” platoon chief Kevin Shaw said.
No one was hurt, but Toronto Fire estimates the fire caused more than $1 million damage.
“The whole place is gone. We’ve lost the restaurant,” said Spuntini owner Peter Catarin.
“I’m devastated right now. Totally.”
Southbound Avenue Road remained closed Friday while firefighters doused hot spots still flaring up more than 12 hours after the fire started.
Fabio Bacca, the brother of Sotto Sotto owner Marisa Rocco, arrived on the scene Thursday night in a panic after getting a call from his sister.
“(I was) just finishing Christmas dinner,” Bacca said. “My sister she called me…(I) was very confused, don’t know what happened, I just ran here.”
Fire crews — including 32 trucks and 75 firefighters — were called to the building at 116 Avenue Rd., south of Davenport Road, just after 7 p.m.
Neighbours celebrating Christmas were terrified when they smelled smoke and saw flames.
“We were opening Christmas presents (and) we looked out the window and said ‘oh my god, Sotto Sotto’s on fire,’ so we called the fire department immediately,” Rahael Chester said.
The blaze was under brought under control sometime after 10:30 p.m.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Jared Welsh is a tenant that lived in the third floor of the building. He wasn’t at home when the blaze started, but arrived to find that firefighters had recovered a treasured possession — his saxophone.
“I just figured just looking at the damage that everything’s gone,” the musician said. “The fact they found this it’s great.”
Sotto Sotto is known as an upscale Italian eatery and has catered to the tastes of celebrities such as Mariah Carey and Matthew Broderick.
UPDATE: An earlier version of this story said the fire was a three-alarm. Toronto Fire officials have since upgraded it to a four-alarm.
