Sweet Lucy's cleared to reopen after warehouse fire

A fire that broke out at the popular Northeast Philadelphia staple Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse didn't stop customers from chowing down on barbecue for too long.

Despite destroyed offices and initial fears of wider damage, the restaurant said Tuesday afternoon it had been cleared to reopen.

The Philadelphia Fire Department responded to the one-alarm fire at the restaurant at 7500 State Rd. in Holmesburg shortly after 6 p.m. Monday. The blaze was placed under control about 20 minutes later, department spokesman Capt. William Dixon said.

Alison Korabik, the restaurant's catering manager, said the fire broke out in the building's warehouse, which houses its catering and accounting offices. The cause is unknown, she said.

Korabik said the offices "are destroyed," mostly from water damage. Sweet Lucy's itself, however, was reopening Tuesday at 1 p.m., according to an update the restaurant posted on Facebook.

Earlier, Sweet Lucy's quickly took to social media after alarmed patrons began spreading news of the fire to share its own message: "We are not burnt down."

Sweet Lucy's was only closed while it awaited clearance from the city's health department, according to the restaurant.

The fire broke out in the middle of the dinner rush, but Korabik said there weren't too many customers inside at the time and everyone was evacuated safely. Sweet Lucy's is known for its Monday night all-you-can-eat buffet.

"Luckily, it was still earlier in the night," she said. "Nobody was hurt."