Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant Billings, MT – Sprinkler system limits spread of fire in bakery’s ventilation system July 2, 2016 viking210 A Tuesday morning fire in the company’s Grand Avenue location damaged the main bakery operation, but it will only be temporary, said owner Bill Harrison. The small fire started in the ventilation system, he said. That triggered the sprinklers, and now a cleanup effort is underway. But the business is without bagels, for now. The downtown Grand Bagel location gets its staple supply from the bakery at 2135 Grand Ave. Until everything is up and running again, the downtown shop will remain open with sandwiches, sweet rolls, biscuits and other menu items. The Grand Avenue shop is normally open on a limited basis to customers but will resume operation after the cleanup effort, Harrison said. The damage didn’t affect the front end severely. “It was mostly isolated to our ovens area where our equipment is,” Harrison Said. He added that the main equipment will need cleaning and not replacement. They’re working with a damage restoration company, and a public health inspector was scheduled to check the space on Thursday, he said. It’s unknown when full bagel baking will resume. Prior to the incident, business had been good, Harrison said. There had been growth in business at the Grand Avenue location, even with limited hours. The downtown business is steady. “Downtown is doing well,” he said. “It doesn’t fluctuate a whole lot. We appreciate the customer loyalty a lot.”
