Mike’s American Grill in Springfield reopens after Valentine’s Day fire

Mike’s American Grill is back in business.

The beloved Springfield restaurant reopened to diners yesterday (Wednesday), just over a week after a three-alarm fire broke out in its kitchen on Valentine’s Day.

Despite the level of emergency response required to extinguish it, the fire ended up being limited in its reach, enabling the restaurant to make repairs and reopen quickly, says its parent company, Great American Restaurants.

“We were fortunate that the fire was contained to the kitchen ductwork, allowing us to open our doors to guests again swiftly,” Great American Restaurants said in a statement. “We would like to thank our dedicated team for their hard work, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue teams for their swift action, Fairfax County and our loyal guests for always supporting us.”

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department was called to Mike’s American at 6210 Backlick Road around 8:55 p.m. on Feb. 14 for the kitchen fire, which required the evacuation of about 150 patrons and 85 employees.

UPDATE 3 Alarm fire, 6200 block Backlick Rd, Mike’s American Grill, at 8:55pm, 2/14: Approx 150 customers/85 employees present at time of fire. All safely evacuated. No reported injuries. Fire started in kitchen on 1st floor. Cause: under investigation. Damages: $200K. #FCFRD pic.twitter.com/XTKP0xwMN7

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) February 15, 2023

No injuries were reported, but the department estimated the blaze resulted in about $200,000 in property damages. An investigation into the cause of the fire is still ongoing, an FCFRD spokesperson said.

Posted to Facebook at 2:18 p.m. yesterday, the reopening announcement elicited cheers from commenters, some of whom expressed pleasant surprise at the speed of the restaurant’s recovery.

“We dined with you to celebrate Valentines Day and must have cleared the building just minutes before the fire started,” one commenter said. “Feared it would take you much longer to return. Welcome back and thanks for being one of Nova’s very best restaurants. See you again soon!”

Great American Restaurants confirmed that the restaurant is following its standard operating hours, which start at 11 a.m. daily and end at 11 p.m. on weeknights, midnight on Friday and Saturday, and 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.