CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Authorities have a person of interest in custody after a second fire tore through a Castle Rock restaurant early Wednesday morning.
Castle Rock police said the person was taken into custody on unrelated charges, but is being considered a person of interest in that fire at Hideaway Bar & Grill, 600 Jerry Street.
Crews from the Castle Rock Fire Department arrived at the restaurant around 12:30 a.m. to find flames and smoke coming from the structure.
As firefighters battled flames, crews launched an aggressive search-and-suppression effort and quickly brought the fire under control upon arrival.
No one was injured in the fire. The cause is under investigation.
This is the second fire at the business in as many days.
A fire on Monday night put 21 people out of a job and caused extensive damage to the kitchen on the opposite side of the building as Wednesday morning's fire.
Robert Stroh, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Becky Stroh, told Denver7 that his alarm company alerted him to the first fire in the early morning hours on Monday.
"My alarm company sent me a call at 12:30 in the morning because it said the panel had gone off and power was down," Robert Stroh said.
After the call, Robert Stroh said he called police to see if they would send someone down to take a look at the property, but soon found out that they were already there.
"I called the police department, thinking it was a power outage, but said, 'You know, just in case somebody was breaking in, would you mind doing a drive by?' And the dispatcher told me there are already police and fire on site, 'You probably want to get down here," he recalled.
This latest fire has left Robert Stroh bewildered.
"It's kind of unbelievable, back-to-back. I've been in the business for 40 years. My wife has too. And, you know, we thought getting through COVID was a tough thing, but this is going to be even more interesting," he said.
Becky Stroh established a GoFundMe campaign to help their 21 employees who now no longer have a job.
"If there's a couple bucks to spare so we can bridge the gap for our employees to get to their next job. That's all we're looking for.," Robert Stroh told Denver7, "It's not for us. We'll make do. We'll figure out our own way. But I just want to help them get to the next, they've been so loyal to us."
The cause of that fire remains unknown, and it's unclear whether the person of interest taken into custody on Wednesday is connected to the first fire.
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