A beloved Whittier pizza joint burns down. The owner suspects arson
Pizzamania, a beloved pizza restaurant and a staple in Whittier for more than 50 years, burned down Tuesday morning in a blaze that the owner believes might have been intentionally set.
The pizza joint and four other businesses were damaged after a fire was reported at 2:25 a.m. in the one-story strip mall in the 13500 block of Telegraph Road, Los Angeles County fire officials said.
Firefighters arrived to find the five businesses engulfed in flames. The blaze was extinguished shortly after 3 a.m.
Patrons and passersby posted images of the fire on social media and expressed grief over the loss of the restaurant that has been a fixture in the community for decades.
“NOOOOOOO!!!!” one person posted on Instagram, followed by a series of crying emojis.
A spokesperson for the Fire Department said the cause of the fire is being investigated by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.
“Someone came by and torched it,” said Warren Haines, one of the co-owners of the restaurant.
Food truck explosions and fires are rare in California, which has some of the strictest regulations governing the safety of mobile food operations, according to experts.
Video cameras from the restaurant were destroyed in the fire, but Haines said video from one of the neighboring businesses showed what looked like someone intentionally setting the fire.
Haines, who started the restaurant in 1973 with business partner Jim Barrit, said the person appeared to have targeted Pizzamania.
Investigators were searching the area for more surveillance images, he said.
Officials with the Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to inquiries about the fire.
The fire put about 50 employees at the restaurant out of work, Haines said.
“I’m pissed off,” he said. “It takes the wind out of your sail.”
Just hours after the fire, Haines said his son, who handles social media for the restaurant, had received more than 700 emails from patrons devastated about the news and wondering how they could help.
A ubiquitous pizza box features two mismatched chefs and an odd culinary command — “Enjoy your delicious moments!” — puzzling internet denizens for years.
Moncy Flores, owner of the neighboring Bianca’s Beauty Salon, said her shop also was damaged in the fire, and she’s still unsure if anything might be salvageable.
“We don’t know how it is inside,” Flores said. “They didn’t let us go inside.”
The salon has been at the location for about 20 years, and her family has owned it for about nine years, she said.
She said she doesn’t know how the fire started but said she wasn’t surprised to hear it might be intentional. About a week ago, she said, two of the other businesses in the strip mall had their windows broken.
The location has always been busy and popular, thanks to Pizzamania, she said.
Haines said he was moved by patrons’ outreach and understands that Pizzamania was a landmark in the community for decades.
“They call, and half of them are in tears,” he said. “It means everything to me.”
Haines said he’s reeling over the fire but intends to keep Pizzamania alive.
“We’re an institution,” he said. “I intend to rebuild.”
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