Dover Restaurant Fire: Blaze cost at $1 million

An electrical malfunction caused Sunday’s fire at a landmark Dover restaurant with the iconic sign along Dupont Highway, a city fire official said Monday.

Kirby & Holloway Family Restaurant was destroyed in a blaze early Sunday and damage is estimated at more than $1 million, Dover Fire Marshal Dave Truax said.

The eatery was a mainstay where high-ranking public officials and ordinary people would gather for down-home fare at reasonable prices.

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper on Monday recalled fond memories of his visits to the restaurant and called the fire a “great loss not just for Dover, but for the whole state.”

He said his first time at the restaurant was when he was running for state treasurer.

“I went around talking to patrons and I had some food myself and thought, ‘I think I’ll come back here someday,’ ” Carper said in a statement. “I’ve been there many times since as treasurer, congressman, governor and senator and always had a great time.”

Truax ruled the fire accidental due to a malfunction in the fixed electrical wiring in the wall.

Crews arrived around 1 a.m. and worked for more than three hours to bring the fire under control Sunday.

Firefighters determined the blaze fire was trapped in an attic-type space between an add-on pitched roof that had been built on top of the original flat roof, Mark Hall, second assistant chief in the Dover Fire Department, said Sunday.

“The business is destroyed,” Truax said. “It burnt the roof off the building, but there is no fire below the roof line, it’s all above. The water damage is below. You don’t think a wall outlet could do that much damage, but it extended to attic area and the roof. Once it got to the roof area, there really wasn’t much anyone could do.”

The restaurant’s owners have declined numerous attempts to comment about the fire and plans for the business, but several officials who talked with them have said they plan to rebuild as quickly as possible.

“Fortunately, we know they’ll come back stronger than ever and we will be there to celebrate,” Carper said.

Nichole Dobo contributed

to this story.

Contact Terri Sanginiti at (302) 324-2771 or tsanginiti@delawareonline.com. On Twitter @TerriSanginiti.