OCEAN CITY, Md. -- After a kitchen fire at Hooper's Crab House, staff at the popular restaurant buckled up for a long night. Waiting in the parking lot until fire crews had left, then getting to work to clean up the mess.
WBOC first reported on the Hooper's kitchen fire here. The flames broke out amid the Thursday evening dinner rush. Hooper's was at full capacity with a wait, but restaurant staff handled the situation professionally.
"First thing was safety of staff and customers so we evacuated the building immediately," said Charlie Macewan, Hooper's kitchen manager. "Once the building was evacuated, everybody was outside, we went to work with fire extinguishers."
Was Macewan's own safety on his mind after running back into the fire with his staff, trying to control what they could?
"You know, having a crowded parking lot, you know what the bridge looks like 7:30 at night, so first thought was as long as everybody was safe we were going to go to work," said Macewan.
Looking back on the aftermath was emotional for Royette Shepherd, owner of Hooper's. But not for the reason you might think.
"I didn’t cry over the fire, because mountains happen in life you're never going to get out of life without mountains, I cried because my heart was so touched by the staff we have," said Shepherd.
Shepherd's praise for her staff and those who showed their support on Thursday night can not be overstated.
"They are phenomenal and the outpouring of love, the phone calls, the texts, the 'what can we do, what can we do' from the community from just other restaurants from customers from family, sometimes it just touches your heart it’s overwhelming," said Shepherd.
One of those staff was Michele Dunn, who first alerted Shepherd to the flames. Dunn said her longtime boss took her usual hands-on approach.
"Just like anything else she dug right in, she's just a great person and became a leader and started directing our guests and our customers to leave the building," said Dunn.
The Ocean City Fire Department was on scene for roughly two hours. 35 firefighters, along with multiple engines and help from the Berlin Fire Company, were able to subdue the flames.
Ocean City Fire Department's Chief, Richard Bowers, said it wasn't an easy job.
“It was about 45 minutes of very labor intensive fire because we had to get to the fire that had creeped up inside the walls and into the roof areas," said Bowers. “Unfortunately we did have to tear down quite a bit of inside area and the attic area and the roof area.”
Once the flames were out, the help poured in.
"Everybody was on hand here our plumbers, our electricians, our carpenters, our staff at 7:30, 8 o'clock this morning and most of us didn't get out until two in the morning," said Shepherd.
And all the extra hands means Hooper's could be open for business on Saturday, just a day and a half after the fire started.
"We might have a few band-aids on us but we'll be up and going," said Shepherd.
Friday will bring about another long night, which will turn into a long morning for the crew at Hooper's. Finishing clean up and prepping for the Saturday lunch rush. But everyone at Hooper's seems supremely confident they will be open on Saturday.