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One after another, well wishers arrived at the Palace Grill in Chicago on Friday to offer support to owner George Lemperis and his family after the restaurant suffered extensive damage from a fire late Thursday.
Lemperis received a call at 9:35 p.m. alerting him of the blaze.
“I figured they were just going to put it out, I’ll clean up and maybe I’ll reopen on Saturday,” Lemperis said. “Then I pulled up here and there must have been 30 emergency vehicles. I walked up and I couldn’t believe it.”
Lemperis said the damage was extensive and the restaurant will be closed for a long time.
Firefighters had to cut a hole in the roof to extinguish the flames. Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford told the Chicago Sun-Times that a preliminary investigation points to a grease fire as the cause.
The Palace is in its 86th year of existence and has been in the Lemperis family since 1955. Located about five blocks from the United Center, the restaurant has been a popular destination for Blackhawks players since the early 1980s.
Former Hawks Troy Murray and Darren Pang stopped by Friday, as did radio play-by-play announcer John Wiedeman.
“I always tell people this restaurant is my third child. It is,” Lemperis said. “This is a very special place for me. How many people that have already stopped just to say hi. … My phone doesn’t stop ringing.”
The Palace’s walls were covered with framed jerseys of Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Denis Savard, Jeremy Roenick, Joel Quenneville and others. Many were signed.
The love and support Lemperis received Friday was quite impressive.
First, six pizzas arrived to feed all on site. Later, the owner of a plumbing company stopped by to offer work to Lemperis’ out-of-work employees.
Despite the circumstances, Lemperis , who has done stand-up comedy at the Palace, still managed to crack a few jokes.
With Murray standing next to him, Lemperis — while on the phone with an insurance adjuster — said: “I had a Jonathan Toews jersey on the wall. He’s the only one who wore 19 for the Hawks who did anything.”
Murray, as it happens, scored 197 goals in 12 seasons with the Hawks while wearing 19.
“I go to a funeral, I laugh,” Lemperis said. “That’s just me.”
Still, he’s hurting.
“I’ve been crying off and on,” Lemparis said. “I try not to cry, but I can’t help it. I found out this morning my son’s coming home from Europe to be with me.
“This is a legendary restaurant in the city. I’m very proud of this restaurant and what I’ve accomplished. My wife always told me, ‘If you ever leave, you’ll probably be a head case. You won’t know what to do with yourself because of all the relationships and people you know.’”
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