The owners of Florida-based health food chain Fresh Kitchen have pledged to rebuild their South Howard restaurant destroyed in a fire Monday.
TAMPA, Fla. — The first location of Florida-based health food chain Fresh Kitchen was destroyed in a fire in Tampa Monday morning.
Firefighters battled a two-alarm blaze at the Soho restaurant at 1350 South Howard Avenue shortly after 4:30 a.m., Fox 13 reported. The blaze was mostly contained by about 7 a.m.
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Fresh Kitchen said in a Facebook post that no employees or customers were in the building at the time and that no one was injured in the fire.
The company said it was “deeply saddened” by the fire, adding that “we are still coming to terms with this event in our minds and hearts and are committed to ensuring our team feels supported during this difficult time.”
August marked the 10th anniversary of what the company called its “little 'Howard Street House.'”
The flagship store is “where it all began,” Fresh Kitchen writes, “where many of the moments that fuel Fresh Kitchen today were shared and the seeds were planted.”
The SoHo store will close permanently as the company works to rebuild.
Fresh Kitchen has 14 locations across the state, including in SoHo, and three more are scheduled to open soon: a Lutz location opening Aug. 20, one in Tampa near the University of South Florida campus in the fall and a Weston location scheduled to open early next year.
