Restaurant destroyed by fire

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The restaurant's roof was allowed to burn to avoid a possible cave in over the fire. (JOE.BRYKSA@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)

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JOE.BRYKSA@FREEPRESS.MB.CA The Paladin restaurant on Des Meurons Street burned until 7 p.m. Sunday despite firefighters being on the scene shortly after the blaze broke out at 6 a.m.

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Scene on Monday morning showed damage from fire. (KEN GIGLIOTTI/ WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

A fire has devoured a St. Boniface institution, just seven months after its longtime owner died.

Only a burnt shell remains of the Paladin restaurant, famed for its homestyle breakfasts, prime rib nights, pastries and confusing warren of rooms.

It's too soon to say whether the restaurant will be rebuilt.

"I can't even say or think about what I'm going to do," said Julie Zoroneck, who opened the Paladin with her husband Ed Felde nearly 25 years ago. "I'm devastated, devastated."

The blaze began just after 6 a.m. and burned until 7 p.m. Sunday.

It was too dangerous for firefighters to enter the café, so they used an aerial ladder to direct water and foam directly into the gutted two-storey building.

They let the roof burn instead of allowing it to cave in over the fire, which would have trapped the blaze and made it more difficult to quell and would have made it difficult for fire investigators to establish the cause of the blaze, said Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service district chief Gil Rekken.

Well into the afternoon flames leapt out of what was left of the second floor, and grey smoke continued to pour from the café's windows and up over St. Boniface. Rekken hoped the fire would be out and the building partially demolished by the end of the day.

Damage is estimated at $1 million.

There's no official word yet how the fire started, but staff said they believe the deep fryer was to blame.

Kitchen manager Don King was the only staffer in the restaurant early Sunday morning. As he was getting ready for the breakfast rush, fetching supplies from the back and checking on coolers, he noticed flames coming from the deep fryer.

"It was too hot for me to get anywhere near it," he said.

He fled the building and drove four blocks to the fire hall on Des Meurons to get help.

It's not clear why the restaurant's sprinkler system or fire alarms didn't automatically go on.

The fire is the latest tragedy to hit the Paladin.

In December, owner Ed Felde died at age 70, leaving his wife, Julie, to run the café.

Felde died without a will and his estate has not yet been settled, said his daughter, putting the restaurant's future in further doubt.

"It's just been one thing after another," said Jennifer Felde, who manages the restaurant's books and catering operation.

Just as the Paladin was famous for homecooked meals at modest prices, Felde was known for giving jobs to people who were struggling to get by and who might look a little rough around the edges.

He offered them structure and on-the-job training, and they became part of the family of about 40 people who work at the restaurant.

"This place was one big family -- the customers, the staff," said server Darcy Read as she watched the flames peek out of the restaurant's charred roof. "It was like Cheers."

Free Press restaurant critic Marion Warhaft last reviewed the Paladin in 2005, when she wrote that it is "a funky ramble of rooms that seems to sprout another little nook every time I visit... there is always tourtiere ($5.50) -- a rib-sticking pork pie that was savoury and satisfying."

All day Sunday, neighbours and customers dropped by on bikes or on foot to watch the blaze and commiserate with staff.

"I don't cook," said Kathe Huot, a St. Boniface resident who has been going to the Paladin for 20 years. "There goes Thursday's supper."

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca

Our readers remember the Paladin:

So sorry to see this happen. Such nice staff there. I hope they can rebuild. For the potato pancakes and so much more.

-- Winna-pig

Paladin has been there since I was a little kid. It used to be called Ben Paladins, as I recall, probably after a very popular 50s television program staring Richard Boone. Any restaurant that is constantly busy like Paladin all these years has got to be good. I hope it will be re-built.

-- pentax99

We will really miss this place. The food was great. It was one of the very few that still had home made food. They used real turkey, chicken and real potatoes. No process meat the we know of. Hopefully they will rebuild it.

-- LINDA12

I hope they rebuild. It is the best restaurant in Winnipeg. It feels like going home for Sunday dinner. Thankfully the restaurant was empty when the fire started, and no one was injured.

-- sofedup

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 27, 2011 A3