Venezuelan restaurant in Nashville recovering from devastating fire

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Nestled on Nolensville Pike is Nashville Venezuela Food, which aims to share its restaurant's Latin flavors with the community. It's been there for years, despite a fire that ravaged the interior this week.

To those passing by, it may look like a restaurant burned down. However, for Isaac Gomez, it was much more.

“One of my dreams was to have the first Venezuelan restaurant in Nashville,” Gomez said.

Plaza Mariachi threatened with seizure

Years ago, Gomez and her business partner opened Nashville Venezuela Food with this dream in mind. It’s a dream that continues even though there’s little left inside.

“My business partner called me around 8 a.m. and said, 'Hey, the business is on fire,' and I was like, 'What?'” Gomez said. “As you can see, it all happened so quickly.”

This week, the business that was created as a place for the community is now hoping those same people can lend a hand in rebuilding it.

“I never thought it would look like this. I thought maybe the kitchen area was going to be damaged and we would be able to repair it fairly quickly.[ly]but no, actually the whole floor is damaged,” Gomez said.

Get the latest news: subscribe to News 2 email alerts →

The Nashville Fire Department (NFD) was dispatched to the restaurant after a report of a fire. When they arrived, they discovered heavy smoke coming from the commercial building. Their report:

Crews carried out an interior attack and found the origin of the smoke, believing that the fire was now out. They are checking extensions and hot spots, as heavy smoke was found both on the roof and in the basement of the building. Fans and other ventilation techniques are used to remove smoke from the building. No injuries have been reported at this time.

NFD

“I went into shock mode for a few minutes. I'm like, 'It's on fire, how?'” Gomez said. “I came in around 6:30 a.m. with the pest control people to fumigate the whole place, and then we came out around 7:30 a.m. I came home at my house to change and when he came back here around 8:20 a.m., the firefighters were already there putting out the fire.

Today, despite the damage, Gomez is discovering there are still pieces to pick up, especially with her employees now unemployed.

Read today's top stories at wkrn.com

“I think we'll be able to do all the cleaning ourselves, but there's still money involved and I still have to pay rent. I still have to pay for electricity. The bills keep coming, you know,” he said.

Gomez and her partner, Felix Carrillo, created a GoFundMe to raise money to pay bills and repairs while the insurance claim is processed. To support the company and learn more about its efforts, click here.

For breaking news, weather, sports and streaming video, visit WKRN News 2.