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A late-night blaze on Oct. 19 destroyed Pisano's Pizza on Lake Tahoe's West Shore.
HOMEWOOD, Calif. — Ironically enough, the owners of Pisano's Pizza were sitting around a campfire when they heard their business had been destroyed.
Jana Gonzalez, who co-owned the pizzeria located at 5335 W. Lake Blvd. with her husband, Joaquin, said the family packed up from a vacation to Santa Barbara when they heard their 10-year business burned down Monday, Oct. 19.
“We were building a fire when our phone just starting ringing off the hook and we got the news,” Gonzalez said. “So we packed up the next morning and headed back.”
No one was hurt in the blaze.
The family came back to Tahoe to find the restaurant — which they had owned since 1999 — destroyed.
Tahoe fire officials determined a circuit overloaded and sparked the blaze.
Gonzalez said she was unsure how much damage the fire caused in dollars.
After opening West Side Pizza in Tahoma earlier this year, the Gonzalez family elected to open Pisano's — which used to be a year-round establishment — solely in the summer, closing the pizzeria after Labor Day.
“I went in there for the first time about four days ago, and it was pretty devastating,” Gonzalez said. “It was a total loss. I lost all the artwork that was in there; a lot of things were melted.”
There was no food or inventory in the business when it burned down, only equipment, Gonzalez said.
Thankfully, she said, no jobs were lost since Pisano's staff moved over to West Side Pizza for the offseason.
Gonzalez said the family doesn't plan to rebuild Pisano's, leaving one fewer restaurant on the West Shore.
“It was heartbreaking; it was a really special place. I had all my life happen there for the last 10 years,” Gonzalez said. “I met my husband, had my kids, got a house from that restaurant — I'll miss it.”
Jana Gonzalez, who co-owned the pizzeria located at 5335 W. Lake Blvd. with her husband, Joaquin, said the family packed up from a vacation to Santa Barbara when they heard their 10-year business burned down Monday, Oct. 19.
“We were building a fire when our phone just starting ringing off the hook and we got the news,” Gonzalez said. “So we packed up the next morning and headed back.”
No one was hurt in the blaze.
The family came back to Tahoe to find the restaurant — which they had owned since 1999 — destroyed.
Tahoe fire officials determined a circuit overloaded and sparked the blaze.
Gonzalez said she was unsure how much damage the fire caused in dollars.
After opening West Side Pizza in Tahoma earlier this year, the Gonzalez family elected to open Pisano's — which used to be a year-round establishment — solely in the summer, closing the pizzeria after Labor Day.
“I went in there for the first time about four days ago, and it was pretty devastating,” Gonzalez said. “It was a total loss. I lost all the artwork that was in there; a lot of things were melted.”
There was no food or inventory in the business when it burned down, only equipment, Gonzalez said.
Thankfully, she said, no jobs were lost since Pisano's staff moved over to West Side Pizza for the offseason.
Gonzalez said the family doesn't plan to rebuild Pisano's, leaving one fewer restaurant on the West Shore.
“It was heartbreaking; it was a really special place. I had all my life happen there for the last 10 years,” Gonzalez said. “I met my husband, had my kids, got a house from that restaurant — I'll miss it.”
