ENCINITAS— A fire broke out in Zenbu and Rimel’s Rotisserie around 9:30 a.m. this morning. The restaurants are located in the same building.
Nobody was injured and the cause of the flames is still being determined, according to Encinitas Fire Marshal Anita Pupping.
She couldn’t yet say whether it started on the top or bottom floor.
“We saw smoke from the ceiling, somebody called and it’s still under investigation as far as what the cause was. We’re still investigating whether it went from the kitchen and (went) up to the rooftop through a unit or not,” said Pupping.
The fire in the restaurant, located in the Seaside Market shopping center, forced surrounding businesses to evacuate.
Pet groomers from Grooming Tail Pet Salon evacuated all of the dogs and one cat out of the top floor suite within five minutes and stood by while firefighters contained the fire.
“We were just grooming and I saw everybody looking up at the roof and one of the ladies came in and let us know there was a fire,” said Alexis Waterhouse, a groomer at Grooming Tail. “We just got out of there as fast as we could.”
Nearly a dozen fire trucks from Encinitas, Carlsbad and Solana Beach fire departments and two ambulances responded to the fire.
Firefighters cut open portions of the roof.
The fire caused a closure along an eastern portion of Birmingham Drive while firefighters worked to contain the fire.
East Coast Pizza and The Lost Abbey’s Confessional were also evacuated.
Seaside Market and Starbucks remained open and the Liverpool Drive entrance to the parking lot remained open for shoppers to get in and out.
