Vienna Inn Fire

Associated Press | June 20,2002

[kinsman redeemer]

A two-alarm fire caused heavy damage to the Vienna Inn restaurant in Vienna early this morning.

Fairfax County firefighter Lieutenant Mark Stone said a police officer was driving by the Maple Avenue building around 3:30 a.m. and spotted smoke coming from the building.

Owner Marty LeRoy says there is a lot of clean up and repairs that need to be done but he’s grateful there’s no damage to the dining room or kitchen.

The Vienna Inn was established in 1960 and is considered a historical site, but the building dates back farther than that.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

[kinsman redeemer]

"Yeah? Whadda YOU want?"
"I'd like a chili dog, please."
"Get out! I don't like your attitude."

[DooDahhhh]

Yep that's their attitude alright. I've seen the owner say "u finished then get outta here"

[Azrael]

I used to hang out at this wonderful establishment when I was in high school and college. It was wonderful. Great chili cheese dogs, cold beer, waitress would always have a black eye or two. Sorry to hear about this.

[Blagden Alley]

There are two places in that part of the world which have character: The VI and McKeevers (formerly Georges). Everything else is aged formica.

[Ligeia]

"I'll take two all the way!" You know you've made the big time when the Associated Press covers your predicament. I hope when they rebuild, they figure out a way to keep the crooked floors and chipped linoleum.

[Ligeia]

Last time I was there, the waitresses still didn't give you a check. Patrons merely tell the cashier what there order was. Amazing in this day and time.

[ThomasMore]

I'm from up Rhode Island way, have a brother who lives in Oakon, just down the line. When I come down to visit, we usually stop and have a couple o' chilli-dogs and beers or some chilli-mac and beers. Haven't been down in 2 years. Heard that ole' Molly is no longer there, after the family sold the business. It is a 'different' place, for sure. I got thrown out once for not waiting at the sign for that ole' bitch to sit me down. She was a real character. Lots of laughs.

Anyone remember closing time and the 'William Tell Overture'?

[Ligeia]

If I were ever there at closing time, I'd be in no position to remember anything! :^) I do remember the clothesline strung up with every single little plastic thing from every bag of hot dog buns they'd ever opened.

[CJ Wolf]

heh, There is a local legend that if you haven't had your baby yet. Go to the Vienna inn, order two chili dogs and you'll drop the baby that day sometime.

[SR71A]

Amazing that so many people know about the VI. I wonder if the fire was caused by accumulated grease in the ceiling again. Yes, again...I seem to remember a fire there in the 80's that was caused by that.

Haven't been there in a while...do they still have their trophy from Busch for selling the most beer in Virginia?

[ThomasMore]

I do remember the clothesline

Ain't it a hoot!!

[ThomasMore]

do they still have their trophy from Busch for selling the most beer in Virginia

I believe at one time they were the largest distributor of keg beer in VA.

[kaboom]

Customer:"Could I have a Zima please?"

Waitress:"GET OUT"

[Virginia-American]

Used to go there with my father, many years ago. Great place.

[CapandBall]

Havent been there in ten + years. I use to hold my office record for the most chili-cheese dogs eaten - 12.

[Ligeia]

Workers vow to rebuild Vienna Inn
By KRISTI COX
Journal staff writer

Sorting through charred rubble of the Vienna Inn early Wednesday, Gabrielle Silver said she wasn't just going through the ruins of her workplace. She was sifting through memories of a town.

A friend who called her put it best: ``She said, `You would think the town of Vienna burned down,'" said Silver, a waitress and manager of the renowned establishment. ``It means a lot to people."

Just how much became evident Wednesday when the beloved eatery, known for its chili dogs and atmosphere, was devastated by a fire that officials are describing as ``electrical in nature."

The two-alarm blaze ripped through the back office and dry storage, tearing through a portion of the roof and causing an estimated $125,000 in damage, the fire department said. The dining area was left relatively unscathed.

About 50 firefighters were called in at 3:40 a.m. to battle the blaze. It took them about 25 minutes to bring the fire under control.

Even as employees vowed to rebuild Wednesday, trying to salvage whatever they could from the gutted offices and setting up plans to reopen, patrons gathered to pay homage to a Vienna landmark.

Bob Tuccillo drove 30 minutes from Falls Church. He stood in a steady rain, staring at the smashed-out windows and gutted back offices, to show his support for the place he has frequented for more than a decade.

``I wanted to see it wasn't going to be torn down," he said, calling the restaurant that used church pews as benches a ``local institution."

He described the humble tavern as ``one of the last, best places in Vienna" where patrons could chow down on ``a working man's lunch" and enjoy ``reasonable prices and good food."

Clad in a Vienna Inn baseball hat, restaurant manager Mark Bragaw insisted the tavern will be back.

``Absolutely, we will reopen," he said. ``It's a very unique place. People have been coming here for 40-plus years. You saw the same faces."

And the community that cherishes the restaurant is offering to help rebuild it, Bragaw said.

``Everybody is doing what they can to help," he said.

Owner Marty LeRoy could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

This isn't the first time residents have offered to pitch in to help the business after a catastrophe.

Town council member Vincent Olson said he remembered patrons helping out after a fire damaged the building a couple of years ago.

``Years ago, they had a fire up there and the patrons, many of whom are tradespeople and so forth, came in and went to work on it," Olson said, saying they had the establishment open again in a few days.

The building had gone through a few incarnations - first starting as an ice cream parlor in 1925, then becoming a drugstore and cafe - before Mike and Mollie Abraham purchased the building in 1960. They renamed it the Vienna Inn.

It was the Abrahams who transformed the establishment into a popular restaurant, town council member Albert J. Boudreau said.

``They were an absolute delight," he said. ``There wasn't a thing we could ask for that they didn't jump in and do twice."

And the little place on Maple Avenue literally was known around the world, Boudreau said.

``I got on an airplane in Japan. My seatmate asked me where I was from. I said, `Vienna,' and he said, `I know the Vienna Inn,'" Boudreau said Wednesday.

The Abrahams sold the Inn to LeRoy about two years ago but still owned the building, said Chris Corridon, an electrical contractor with Jim Corridon Electric and friend of LeRoy.

He said LeRoy has worked hard to maintain the same atmosphere the Abrahams cultivated for decades - including the Little League photographs and trophies that festooned the walls.

It was that commitment to the community that made the tavern so unique, Olson said.

``Over the years, many people enjoyed themselves there and it was known around the world," he said. ``People would talk about Vienna and somebody, who might be a stranger and might have been stationed in the area, knew it. The Abrahams were very dedicated owners and did a lot for the town."

Silver said fellow employees were ``positive" despite their loss.

``We're going to reopen and it's going to be just as good as it was before," she said.

http://cold.jrnl.com/cfdocs/ne w/ffx/story.cfm?paper=ffx& section=fp&snumber=03

[kinsman redeemer]

``We're going to reopen and it's going to be just as good as it was before," she said.

Who could you possibly hire to be-build it and make it like it was?! The three stooges?

[KC_for_Freedom]

Over the years, many people enjoyed themselves there and it was known around the world,

I'll say, one of the trips we plan to take in retirement is to Vienna to have some more chili cheese dogs and cold beer. I remember at lunch they used to let us keep track ourselves. Pay at the door when leaving. I asked why they don't do that for dinner, "Too many people get too drunk and lose track".

[relee]

I used to go there in the 80s with a roll of nickles and wait for 'the song' to play on the jukebox. Some of the beer cans on the wall were burned already, from the prior fire. Sure miss those chili dogs.