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Fire at Lucali; Pizzeria Closed Possibly 'One to Two Weeks'

Posted by Adam Kuban, July 7, 2009 at 3:10 PM

From a tipster:

"I just called Lucali to confirm their hours for tonight and learned that they had a fire last night and will be closed for repairs. The fire was apparently in the chimney and no one was hurt. They were awaiting more details on the length of the closing—possibly one to two weeks."

Slice is trying to get through to Lucali's Mark Iacono for further details. Stay tuned.

Sadly, this isn't the only celebrated Brooklyn pizzeria to get hit by a fire lately. Coney Island's Totonno's caught fire in mid March.

Update/Confirmation, 7/7/2009, 4:02 p.m. ET

I just spoke with Iacono. He says the fire started in the flue from the oven to the roof. Apparently a clean-out cap had fallen off—he doesn't know when—and its absence affected the draft in the flue and the heat build-up in it, causing creosote within the flue to catch fire.

Iacono says it may take as little as 3 to 4 days to install a new flue, but he'll probably keep the pizzeria closed for one to two weeks to ... drum roll, please ... set up the long-awaited garden space. Every cloud has a silver lining, no?

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Tags: Brooklyn, Carroll Gardens, fires, Lucali, Lucali fire, Lucali's, NYC