Pancake House Owner Says Business Was Looking Up Before Fire

By Desiree Parker Tuesday, August 10, 2010

After a fire destroyed National Pancake and Waffle House and two adjacent apartments Monday morning, owner George Prassas expects he’s facing a long rebuilding process.

Prassas, who also owns the Colonial Pancake House in Williamsburg, says last year was a tough one financially for the National Pancake and Waffle House, but over the past few months business has been pretty good.

“Last year we were devastated by the poor economy,” Prassas says. “We were just starting to turn a corner and this happens.”

The fire, which fire officials say was started by a four-year-old playing with a lighter, caused severe damage to the apartments and the roof of the restaurant located at 7105 Pocahontas Trail. The fire was reported by a resident at 12:03 a.m. and 21 fire personnel from the James City County, York County and City of Williamsburg Fire Departments arrived on the scene within minutes.

Because the fire spread so fast through the apartments, the crews were forced to fight from the outside at first until it was safe to go inside the building. Prassas says the water and smoke damage were worse than the fire damage inside the building.

Three people in one apartment and two in the second have been relocated by the Red Cross, and three of the 12 pancake house employees have been moved to Prassas’ second business. “I was able to find a place for the people who really depended on the full-time job,” he says. The other employees were students or worked for him as a second job.

Prassas had good building insurance, and he’s waiting to hear from the insurance adjustor to find out what rebuilding costs will be covered.
He expects rebuilding to take about six to eight months, but “it could be a long process. Victor’s restaurant took over 12 months to rebuild,” he says about Sal’s by Victor owner Victor Minichiello, whose restaurant burned down last summer and only recently reopened.