A fire overnight appears to have heavily damaged a popular Excelsior restaurant and liquor store.
The fire at Haskell's Port of Excelsior broke out around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday according to Excelsior interim fire chief Nate Basinger who said it's a loss for the community.
"It's definitely going to have an impact, it's been an institution for as long as we've been here," he said. "A lot of our firefighters and people we work with frequent it."
Crews spent about 90 minutes getting the fire under control and prevented the flames from spreading to the liquor store housed in the same building.
"Around Lake Minnetonka there is a lot of glitz and glamour and all that, but this place was just the local watering hole for people to come down," explained Ted Farrell of Haskell's, who talked to WCCO's Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar.
Farrell adds it was just a neighborhood place, where people could hang out.
"You went down there in your sweatpants and, you know, a t-shirt or a flannel," he says. "You played some pull-tabs. You had some chicken wings, and it's just a gathering."
Farrell said the structure, which had an iconic lighthouse feature, was originally owned by the city.
"I believe they built it up in about the 50s and it used to be the municipal on-off-premise," Farrell said. "And then in about 1977, the city of Excelsior decided to get out of the liquor business, and they knocked on our door and sold it to us. And it's been our little gem on the lake for years."
On Facebook, Haskell's wrote, "As some of you may have heard, there was a fire at here last night. We are incredibly relieved to share that everyone is safe. We are currently assessing the situation and will be closed for the foreseeable future. Thank you for your support and patience while we navigate this. We'll keep you updated here. We also want to thank the emergency crew who responded to the fire. We appreciate your service.--Haskell's Port of Excelsior Team'
