Concession Street bar and grill firebombed

My Neighbourhood Bar and Grill on Concession Street was firebombed early Thursday morning.

Ed Napoleon, who owns the bar at 794 Concession St. just east of Upper Sherman Avenue, said recently installed double-pane windows prevented significant damage. “We just opened three months ago and we’ve been doing really well, it’s a great restaurant,” he said. “Maybe someone doesn’t like that.”

Police responded to the call at about 4:30 a.m. An officer said the BEAR unit (break and enter, auto theft and robbery) is investigating but wouldn’t comment further.

Napoleon, who opened as usual Thursday morning, said he understands police will investigate if anyone had reason to benefit from damaging his business.

The bar is in a plaza across the street from homes and apartment buildings. For more than 20 years the old bar was Jack’s Roadhouse before he renovated the building, Napoleon said.

Soon after the firebombing, he received a phone call from a friend who had been contacted by a pharmacy employee working next door in the plaza. “He said, ‘Someone is trying to burn your place down.’”

Napoleon said he was told the device used was a bottle with gasoline and paper inside that was set on fire before it was thrown.

But the bar was to go ahead with karaoke Thursday night and “the best chicken wings in town,” Napoleon said, adding regular customers said they weren’t deterred.