A three-alarm fire gutted a San Mateo wine and spirits store Tuesday morning, but firefighters kept the blaze from spreading to two adjoining businesses.
The fire was reported at 6:25 a.m. at the Wine Globe store at 25 43rd Ave., near El Camino Real.
Firefighters arrived at the scene in three-and-a-half minutes, said San Mateo Fire Chief Brian Kelly. The blaze was stubborn, but 50 firefighters from eight agencies had it under control by 7:15 a.m., Kelly said. No injuries were reported.
There are apartments above the wine store, which had an interior mezzanine level, Kelly said.
"It was a little bit of a complicated fire attack because of the mezzanine," he said.
Once firefighters determined that no one was in danger, the primary focus became protecting the neighboring businesses - a salon and a taqueria, Kelly said.
Those efforts were successful, but the Wine Globe was destroyed. Kelly estimated damage to the building at $400,000. In addition, he said, "They lost probably all of their inventory."
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Kelly said there were no signs that someone had broken into the building. "We don't think it's a suspicious fire at this point in time," he said.
Alvaro Jimenez - who lives nearby and often shops at the wine store - pulled up in a pickup truck Tuesday afternoon to see the damage. "You're kidding me," he said.
Broken glass lined the sidewalks and sooty wine bottles spilled out of torn, wet boxes. A small crowd gathered outside the store, including Wine Globe owner Tony Rekhi and his adult son Manu.
Manu Rekhi said the family learned of the fire through a phone call.
"A family member called us; they heard it on KCBS radio," he said.
Manu Rekhi said his father has owned the store since 1991 and that business had been on the rise in recent years. The family had even started a Web site for Internet orders. Now, with the busy holiday season approaching, they won't be able to do any sales at all, he said.
Rekhi said the family is in contact with insurance representatives to determine the next step. "We're going to try to figure out how to get things back up and running as soon as we can," he said.
Kelly said officials from the health department had inspected both the taqueria and the salon Tuesday. Both businesses expect to be fully operating again later this week.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
E-mail Melissa McRobbie at mmcrobbie@dailynewsgroup.com
