Fire breaks out at Boulder's Oak at Fourteenth

Tara Anderson

Part of the Pearl Street Mall has been evacuated after fire broke out this morning at Oak at Fourteenth, the recently opened restaurant owned by bartender Bryan Dayton, chef Steve Redzikowski and general manager Annie Polk.

Flames burst out in the attic, a space between the ceiling of the restaurant and the roof, making it a difficult fire to contain, according to the Boulder fire department. And though they have managed to get the thing under control -- after tearing down Oak's ceiling and cutting holes in the roof -- they expect it to take several hours to actually put it out.

The fifteen employees inside the restaurant at the time were all evacuated, and one firefighter has been reported injured.

Oak had a highly anticipated opening last November after building out the space to give it a sleek, modern intimacy in the long dining room. It's been serving up a menu built on a wood-burning oven ever since.

"It's definitely heartbreaking," Dayton told the Daily Camera.

He tells Westword that he's still waiting on info as to how soon he'll be able to get back into the space and reopen.

As we get details of the full scope of the damage and what the partners plan to do next, we'll post them here. Here's hoping the place will be up and running soon.