Bestia Reopens Tonight After Fire Knocked Out Kitchen for Two Weeks

Bestia, the popular Arts District Italian restaurant from Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis, reopens tonight after a fire took out the kitchen two weeks ago. The repairs took place immediately after the fire closed the restaurant down on August 25, resulting in a quick turnaround. Bestia had to call its numerous reservations to notify and then reschedule their tables, as diners often have to book dinners weeks or even months ahead.

All the fire damage was limited to the kitchen, though they did replace one of the walls. The city’s Building and Safety passed the rebuild with an inspection on Friday, paving the way for tonight’s reopening.

Bestia made the following statement:

We are excited to announce that after 2 weeks of hard work from everyone, Bestia will be back open today, Tuesday 9/5. Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen so quickly, provided support, or reached out with positive thoughts

Kitchen and fire repairs often take many weeks or months, while other restaurant fires can ultimately doom an establishment, such as April Bloomfield’s Midtown NYC eatery Salvation Burger, which never seemed to recover after a fire took it out for months on end. Locally, a kitchen fire took out the iconic postmodern KFC in Koreatown while a massive blaze shut down two Mar Vista restaurants back in May.

• Bestia Closed Indefinitely After Kitchen Fire Last Night [ELA]