A fire overnight Monday damaged the restaurant Vin de Set and other businesses at 2017 Chouteau Avenue in Downtown West.
Shortly before 4 a.m., the St. Louis Fire Department reported via Twitter that a “heavy” fire was showing on Vin de Set’s rooftop patio.
No injuries were reported. The fire was contained to the building’s exterior. No cause has been announced.
“Both utilities, the Building Division & fire investigators requested,” the Fire Department said on Twitter.
Battalion 2 reports: Searches negative. Aerial waterway utilized for initial #fire knockdown; hand lines deployed extinguishing hotspots.
Both utilities, the Building Division, & fire investigators requested.
No injuries immediately reported.
📸: Mr. Chris Malkus #STLCity pic.twitter.com/ajpFaqQ4XO— St. Louis Fire Dept (@STLFireDept) September 19, 2022
Restaurateurs Paul and Wendy Hamilton opened Vin de Set in 2006 on the third floor of 2017 Chouteau.
The building is also home to other businesses in the Hamiltons’ restaurant group, including the pizzeria PW Pizza on the first floor and the event venue Moulin on the second floor.
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Water drips into the flooded event space on the second floor of Vin de Set restaurant in the 2000 block of Chouteau Avenue in St. Louis on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Fire destroyed the rooftop deck at restaurant but also caused extensive water and smoke damage to the event space and PW Pizza on the ground floor. No one was hurt in the fire that was discovered shortly before 4 a.m. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Hamilton Hospitality vice president of operations Jason Arnold toured the damaged building Monday with a Post-Dispatch photographer.
Vin de Set’s rooftop deck is significantly charred, and there is a hole in the deck where the fire was the most intense.
Moulin on the second floor suffered heavy smoke and water damage, and water is dripping down to PW Pizza on the first floor. There is standing water on both the second and first floors.
Aside from light smoke damage to its bar area, Vin de Set’s third-floor interior was largely untouched by the fire.
“It feels like it’s hollowed out again,” Arnold said of the building. “We’re just going to have to start over.”
Vin de Set employs 65 to 75 workers, depending on the season, Arnold said.
The Hamiltons operate other restaurants nearby, including Eleven Eleven Mississippi and Hamilton’s Urban Steakhouse and Bourbon Bar.
