Fire damage will keep popular buffet restaurant closed longer than expected

A June 23 fire at Golden Corral will keep the popular buffet restaurant closed at least 30 days to repair heavy smoke and water damage.

Instead of 10 days as first thought, kitchen manager David Freeman said it may be the end of July or later before the Columbus restaurant on 1505 Manchester Expressway is reopened. The Ansul fire suppression equipment in the grill area prevented fire damage but the building had heavy smoke and water damage in the 3:02 a.m. fire.

"We had water from one side of the building to the other in some spots, 3-4 inches of water standing," Freeman said Saturday.

Servpro of Columbus, a company that specializes in cleanup and restoration after fire, smoke and water damage, has been on the scene since the fire but should finish in a day or two. Carpets have been ripped from the floor along with drywall and wainscoting on the lower walls.

The restaurant will get new carpet from the entrance to the bar area and fresh paint.

"We are just waiting on people to get in there and start doing it," Freeman said.

Officials aren't sure about some issues at the restaurant. The air-conditioning system has to be checked and crews have to wait on permits to start work.

Freeman said the damage would have been worse if the fire suppression system had malfunctioned.

"Fortunately, it did work properly and did its job," he said.

No one was injured in the fire but it did leave 60 employees out of work. Some employees have been invited to work at locations in Opelika and Montgomery, Ala., until the Columbus restaurant reopens.

"Some of our workers been going up there to continue to work," he said.

This story was originally published June 30, 2018 at 4:58 PM.