Kitchen fire damages Mazra in Redwood City

Makableh was working the expo line when his brother and co-owner Jordan said he saw smoke in the hallway. After the pair attempted to find the source and put it out on their own, but couldn’t, more than 100 guests in the middle of dinner hour had to be evacuated. 

“Our whole team, 20 different people, were running on every floor trying to see where’s the fire,” Makableh said. “We couldn’t find a fire, it was really internal.” 

The source of the fire, according to the initial survey at the scene on Tuesday as told to Makableh, was charcoal dropped in the corner of the room near the grill. Although the wall is stainless steel and the floor is epoxy coated, a 2-inch wood floorboard seemed to serve as a cavity allowing the flame to reach into the walls. 

Makableh said he was told by the fire department that the fire was likely burning for over three hours by the time it was called in. 

“We saw what we built and we saw how quickly it disappeared,” Makableh said. “When we were let back in, I saw so many tables with food untouched.”

The fire was called in just before 8 p.m., and was put out and property surveyed in a matter of hours. Makableh said they were let back inside around 10:30 p.m. 

“By the time we got in, it was not our restaurant,” Makableh said. “There was a foot of water and foam all over the restaurant. All the equipment was covered in what they use to extinguish fires. It was a shell shock when we saw.” 

Though late at night, nearby restaurants and community members came out to show their support. 

“Customers, community, restaurant owners, even if they weren’t at work, came to lend a hand,” Makableh said. “I never expected that much support from everyone, even City Council was there at 10:30.”

Makableh said owners from Zareen’s and Vesta Pizza nearby offered space in their walk-in coolers for preserving foods. Unfortunately, the power was off for three hours leaving nothing viable. 

Still, Makableh said he and his brother are ready to get back to work and felt invigorated by the community support. He said contractors are already working to get everything ready to resubmit the proper paperwork to the city.

“We’re fortunate, we’re thankful,” Makableh said. “We had a really successful business. This was the last thing we ever wanted but we’re going to get back in there as soon as possible.”

Mazra opened its second location at 2021 Broadway on April 1, an expansion after the booming success of its original San Bruno location. The first location opened in March 2020 and quickly earned a top-100 Yelp ranking, and is currently under construction for renovation purposes. Mazra specializes in all-halal Eastern Mediterranean food, offering traditional family recipes.