The firefighters enjoyed Chops’ 40-ounce porterhouse, 32-ounce double-cut ribeyes, mashed potatoes, corn mash, creamed spinach, and wedge salad. “They went and dealt with, I believe, a large brush fire … and came back hungry,” he said. Delesandro brought the restaurant’s delicious menu right to the firefighters’ home - and just as he arrived, a call came in. 9, the Chops made its way to the fire station. But with everything going on, they weren’t able to make it a reality until recently. The idea came during a weekly Tuesday meeting between management staff and the corporate team just weeks after the fire.

“When I say from the ground up, I mean literally like opening a restaurant from scratch.”īut before Chops was able to reopen, the team was trying to figure out a way to thank the men and women of Firehouse 21 who helped them that night. “We started from the ground up,” said Delesandro, who has been at Chops for 10 years and with Buckhead Life Restaurant Group for 19. About a month before the reopening, the team got back together to discuss coming back, new menu items, and the restaurant’s new expansion. From the date of the fire to reopening in September, employees were able to work at other restaurants, and Delesandro and Chops General Manager Kevin Brown would make the rounds to check on their team. A few months after the fire, Buckhead Life Restaurant group, Chops’ parent company, filed a permit to restore and remodel the restaurant. “About the time we were getting ready to verbally evacuate the building and the dining room, the fire alarm went off.”Įveryone made it out safe, but the damage was done. “I went downstairs and told the cooks, shut it down, everyone out,” Delesandro said.

He investigated further, and found the fire in the hood system itself. When he went outside and looked up, black smoke was rising out of the roof. He said he noticed an unusual amount of smoke coming from the kitchen’s hood system. At the time, WSB-TV reported that the fire began inside a hood vent, and was bad enough firefighters needed to call a second alarm to put it out.Įxecutive Chef Ryan Delesandro was there that Friday night and found the fire. One night In January earlier this year, diners evacuated from the Buckhead eatery because of a fire that started around 10 p.m. After a devastating fire, the team at Chops Lobster Bar wanted to give back.

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