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An early morning fire broke out at Wunsche Bros. Cafe & Saloon in Old Town Spring over the weekend. According to Houston Chronicle, firefighters were notified of the blaze before 4 a.m. Sunday, March 29. Firefighters were able to save the historic wooden structure which sustained smoke damage but recent additions from the mid-80's had the most destruction, reports the Chronicle:
Only the blackened frame of the extension still stood. Crushed ventilation pipes, sooty bathroom sinks and singed insulation piled on a charred floor muddy from the hundreds of gallons of water pumped onto the structure by firefighters. Flames melted the paint off steel siding, erasing the bottom half of white and beige lettering that once read, "W. Bros."
No one was inside at the time of the blaze. Firefighters are currently investigating the cause of the fire.
Nathan Laviage, owner of Wunsche Bros. Cafe & Saloon, thanked everyone for their thoughts and support through a public statement on Facebook Sunday. Laviage continued to update concerned patrons of the aftermath and support for displaced employees. While Laviage picks up the pieces, he has established a donation fund at Amegy Bank for those wanting to help all 40 employees. The Wunsche Bros. Cafe & Saloon owner also lost many of the cafe's original photo in the blaze. Laviage is requesting assistance to replace the destroyed pictures.
Wunsche Bros. Cafe & Saloon opened in 1902 as a hotel and saloon before its transformation into a fully fledged restaurant. Legend has it that Charlie Wunsche, the original co-founder haunts the cafe to this very day.
