In the wake of a devastating fire that devastated three businesses in downtown Visalia, the owners and their staff work to pick up the pieces and find out what’s next for the devastated city complex.
On May 1, a fire spread from a garbage container behind the Alejandra Mexican Restaurant into the building before consuming Main Street works and damaging three others: the suites of the Sage Salon, the Visalia Fox Theater, and the Quesadilla Gorilla.
Dozens of employees at Alejandra’s, Jimmy John’s, and Decor de Amore vacated businesses and watched their livelihoods burn to the ground.
“We are still in shock,” Alejandra’s general manager, Saul Altamirano, said this week. “It’s been 48 hours and we’re still in disbelief.”
No one was hurt in the three-alarm fire that shut down downtown for hours as crews from across Tulare County battled the flames, sending tens of thousands of gallons of water pouring into Main Street sewers.
Alejandra’s longtime owner, Roc Salinas, has vowed to rebuild.
“We can’t let society down,” he told Altamirano. “They have supported us for 28 years, and we will continue to support them – the fire will not stop us.”
Altamirano said the GoGundMe fundraiser will help the restaurant’s 29 employees with their expenses as they look for new jobs. Several employees have worked in the restaurant for decades; He said at least one servant had no other job.
The fundraising foundation raised $9,000 of its $25,000 goal.
“We’re just a big family,” he said. “Our longest-serving employee has been at Alejandra for 22 years. I think that says a lot.”
The family atmosphere and outstanding service are two of the qualities that patrons have responded to over the past three decades. Foodies at Visalia have lamented that the restaurant was closed indefinitely in the wake of the fire.
“My heart goes out to the owners and staff of Alejandra,” Laura Kane Griffiths wrote on social media. “This is our favorite restaurant. For over 20 years, we’ve had a lot of good meals and good times there.”
Decoration for love – no more
While a downtown legacy aims to come out of the ashes, a rising home décor store should call it quits.
Adore decorator Brenda Chavez said the second fire that destroyed her small business in eight months is a challenge she can’t overcome.
“It’s a nightmare,” she said. “We lost everything – twice.”
The first version of the store was badly damaged when a fire broke out last August on Houston Boulevard and Ben Maddox Road.
The cause of this fire is still under investigation.
On Monday, police arrested the man they believe caused the blaze in the city center before the ashes nearly settled. Jesse Hager, 56, of Visalia, faces two counts of felony arson and just over six years in prison, if convicted.
“I don’t know why they did that,” Chavez said of the alleged arsonist. “I don’t know why my shop burned down.”
Chavez worked at the Visalia Hobby Lobby for 11 years before pursuing her passion – home decor. Decor opened in downtown Adore on November 22nd.
Chavez says she would lose up to $60,000, because the business was between insurance policies. Her family organized an online fundraiser to help defray these costs.
“Work is starting to recover,” she said. “We were new to town, and there were a lot of people who didn’t know us yet.”
Now, says Chavez, they likely never will.
“I can’t cross this again,” she said.
The future of downtown is at stake
Downtown Visalia is still recovering from damage from the 2018 fire that destroyed a building in the city across from Alejandra Street.
The fitted plot is covered with a mural that was supposed to be temporary but has now held up for nearly four years. Of the four businesses destroyed by this fire, only one — Pacific Treasure & Gourmet — remained downtown.
Could the same fate be in store for the seemingly prime estate located just steps away from the historic Fox Theater?
Mayor Steve Nielsen says no.
“The landlord has a very high motivation (to rebuild),” he said. “It’s refreshing to hear, but there’s no timeline yet.”
Meanwhile, Downtown Visalians has organized a fundraising drive to support displaced employees. He said the downtown association, which Nielsen also chairs, raised $4,000 in just two days.
“If we can maintain the momentum, we hope to make a real difference in the lives of the employees who have been affected by this tragic incident,” he said. “A lot of firefighters will tell you if they’ve had to go through a devastating fire in their careers, that’s a lot.
“We have fires.”
The Tulare County Workforce Investment Board is also working with Alejandra to educate employees about the programs — including scholarships, utilities, and rental assistance — available to help.
The office is located across the street from Alejandra Street in Maine, making it a convenient meeting place for workers and management, said business resource specialist Ryan Legour.
He noted that fires have become the most common reason for the board’s rapid response team to go to work to help broken employees.
“Whether they get a fire from another event, or lose business because of the pandemic … it’s a tragedy,” he said. “People are really struggling.”
Joshua Yeager She is a reporter for the Visalia Times-Delta and a member of Report for America Corps. It covers the deserts of Tulare County news with a focus on the environment and local governments.
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