Bar getting overhaul after May grease fire

Pirate’s Well Restaurant & Bar could reopen by the end of the month.

LAKE PARK — A popular north county watering hole is getting an overhaul after it was ravaged by a fast-moving grease fire.

The Pirate’s Well in an unincorporated pocket near Lake Park has been closed since the blaze that broke out about 6 a.m. on Mother’s Day, owner Larry Marble said. A banner hanging on the side of the bar announces “closed due to fire, reopening soon.”

Marble said he’s hit some snags with permitting but hopes to reopen by the end of August or early September. The buccaneer-themed bar and restaurant will have new flooring, walls, electric and ventilation, Marble said.

“We figured if we’re going to be closed, let’s just go ahead and do a complete remodel,” he said. “There was a lot of smoke damage, and everything above the drop ceiling was scorched.”

A joint investigation by the fire suppression system company and fryer manufacturer determined it was an accidental grease fire, Marble said. Three employees noticed the beginnings of the fire as they were about to leave that morning.

“They tried to put it out, and it just got too hot too fast, too smoky,” he said. “They had to get out and call 911.”

Everyone got out safely, he said. Firefighters from North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Palm Beach County responded. They had to come back after they first extinguished the fire because it was “smoldering inside the walls.”

Insurance will cover most of the cost of the repairs, Marble said, although how much he will have to pay out-of-pocket has not yet been determined.

The Pirate’s Well has two locations — Lake Park and Royal Palm Beach. Marble opened the Lake Park location Jan. 5, 2010, in the original Duffy’s. The building is concrete and did not suffer any structural damage, Marble said.

A few of the Lake Park employees are working in Royal Palm. Marble kept as many as he could working there, but he lost a few who had to get jobs elsewhere, he said.