GLENDALE, Ariz. — As people were waking up to gifts from Santa on Christmas day, a Taco Mich restaurant location erupted into flames.
“We woke up to this bad news about our family business burning down,” Daysy Segura said. “It was tragic news to us.”
The fire broke out just before 5 a.m. at the fast-food restaurant near 59th Avenue, South of Bethany Home Road in Glendale. It’s one of five locations the franchise has in the Valley.
“My first question was, where are the employees, you know, because we had employees working at the moment,” Segura said. Her mother owns the chain.
Two employees were working when the fire started. They believe the blaze sparked in a fryer they bought five months ago.
That day, an employee emptied the oil, cleaned the machine, and dried it out, before they added new old and turned it on.
“She said it had been on for about 30 minutes when the fire started inside and behind the fryer,” said the owner, Angelica Gonzalez.
The employees called 911 as the fire quickly spread.
When the Glendale Fire Department arrived, flames came out of the roof as smoke billowed out of the building.
The employees made it out safely, but the restaurant was destroyed. The kitchen was charred, and a large hole was left on the roof.
“Practically it’s a total loss, this place,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez has owned the chain for 21 years. She first started as an employee, then transitioned to management, and later bought the two stores the owner had at the time.
The Latina business owner then expanded and opened four more locations.
The restaurant had been operating for 10 years. It was the last one they opened.
The fire is the first time the family-run business endured a loss like this.
“This is what we live from,” Segura said, who also works for the chain. “This is what our employees live from, so we are just thankful. Because something really bad could’ve happened.”
The family is thankful no employees or firefighters were hurt while they put out the fire. Some employees relocated to other stores, while others decided to take some time off.
“It makes me sad, but I understand these things happen, they’re accidents,” Gonzalez said. “I know we will come out stronger from this.”
Officials are still investigating the official cause of the fire.
While the insurance companies work out the details of fixing the damages, Gonzalez said they will have a food truck starting the new year to continue serving its loyal customer base at the damaged location.
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