All week, the owner of Gustos Burger Bar in Fort Worth fielded condolences from friends and neighbors who saw video of an intense July 4 fire that damaged homes near Magnolia Avenue and assumed the restaurant was swallowed in the blaze.
The burger joint is in an old home similar to the ones that were scorched. Gustos is on the same block as the fire, but it was unharmed.
“If you were looking from Magnolia [Avenue], it looked like Gustos was on fire,” said Jonny Arguello, owner of the burger joint. “Everybody’s saying, ‘Gustos burned down!’”
He felt awkward correcting them, given the seriousness of the fire.
“We are still so open,” he confirmed.
The cause of the fire is undetermined, according to the Fort Worth Fire Department.
The incident has rattled neighbors in the Magnolia area of Fort Worth. One person was treated for smoke inhalation, a fire department spokesperson said.
Neighboring businesses Sakura Lounge, Shogun Taqueria, Paco’s Food Truck and cocktail bar Secreto were unharmed, though some restaurants closed briefly to give shelter to victims and pets.
News of the incident spread quickly that evening. Arguello was riding a rollercoaster at Six Flags Over Texas with his nephew when his phone “started blowing up” with concern over the safety of the restaurant. His general manager raced to the scene and found Gustos Burger Bar safe, thanks to the fire department. Gustos is giving away free burgers to Fort Worth Fire staffers until July 14.
As for another damaged home next door to Gustos, the team behind the burger joint had planned to lease it and open a cocktail bar.
“We were literally about to take it over, but then it caught fire,” Arguello said. The project is paused for now: “Our bar plan went up in flames.”