On Aug. 5, 2025, this smoky fire broke out in a second-floor apartment above the Red Chimney Restaurant in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood. The building is structurally but not economically salvageable, so it will be demolished before summer (Tony Brancatelli). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Building is sound, economics aren’t
If the beloved Red Chimney Restaurant was a luxury establishment in a vibrant, thriving neighborhood, the economics might favor its rebuilding following an Aug. 5, 2025 fire that was confined to a second-floor apartment at the back of the building where the blaze began.
But the water used by firefighters to put out the flames and cool any hot spots wasn’t confined to the second floor. Instead, it poured down into and heavily damaged the 50-plus-year-old restaurant below — apparently beyond the point of recovery.
So while the century-old building at 6501 Fleet Ave. is still structurally sound, a minor fire plus the economics of a family-style restaurant in the Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland it served conspired to levy a death sentence for the Red Chimney, said Tony Brancatelli…