The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Mr. T’s restaurant goes up in flames
The latest fire at the iconic but shuttered Mr. T’s restaurant in downtown Riverside might be its last.
More than 30 firefighters battled the blaze at 4307 Main St. after it was reported at 6:29 a.m. on Tuesday. Firefighters quickly searched the building and didn’t find anyone. By 10:30 a.m., Riverside
city code enforcement officials and the owner were making plans to knock the chimney into the structure so it wouldn’t fall on anybody.
“The structure is severely compromised. This building is a total loss,” Battalion Chief Bruce Vanderhorst said. It was the fourth or fifth fire at the A-framed restaurant, he said, adding that it closed around 2019 after a kitchen fire.
The city in 2020 issued a permit to the owner, listed as J & P Canaan, to fix the damage. But that permit expired without any repairs being performed, city spokesman Phil Pitchford said.
The building was later boarded up, but that didn’t prevent break-ins. Tuesday, Vanderhorst said he asked for police to respond quickly when a transient tried to re-enter the building to
retrieve his belongings.
An arson investigator determined the fire was not intentionally set, but the exact cause was listed as undetermined, Vanderhorst said.
No one was reported injured. Main Street was closed for hours after the fire between 12th and 14th streets.
The 1,958-square-foot, $35,000 building opened as an International House of Pancakes, according to the building permit issued in 1963. It was unclear Tuesday when the name was changed to Mr. T’s.
Vanderhorst said firefighters from the downtown station sometimes drove their rigs to the restaurant and ate Sunday breakfast there. It was a popular gathering spot for attorneys because it was a short walk from the courthouses, said former Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco.
Pacheco, who now is a practicing attorney, described the fire as “sad news.”
“It was close, a good, solid breakfast, and the price was always right,” Pacheco said. “There were other places to eat and for some reason, we gravitated toward it.”
It was at Mr. T’s — over breakfast with a Press-enterprise reporter in 1995 — Pacheco said he kicked off his successful campaign for state assembly. Pacheco learned that a candidate had dropped out, and Pacheco decided to run. He won, serving three two-year terms representing the 64th District that encompassed Riverside, Jurupa Valley, Norco and downtown Corona.
Staff Writer Fielding Buck contributed to this report.