You don’t need to know Food Network queen Paula Deen very well to know that her Savannah, Georgia eatery, The Lady & Sons is her pride and joy.
Fans of the exuberant celebrity chef know The Lady & Sons is to Deen what “Meet the Press” was to Tim Russert. So when news spread late Sunday night that a fire was burning in her famous restaurant it’s no surprise that Deen raced down to the eatery in her bathrobe and bedroom slippers.
Luckily she wasn’t met with her worst nightmare. According to fire officials, crews responded to a blaze about 11 p.m. Sunday at The Lady & Sons, but no injuries were reported.
Fire crews say the blaze apparently started in a laundry bag full of linens and rags. Investigators believe the rags had oils in them that broke down and generated their own heat, causing a spontaneous combustion.
Fire officials say Deen caught a break because while the fire generated heavy smoke, firefighters were able to pull the burning bag from the restaurant before the flames were able to spread. Fire crews say no water had to be used to douse the blaze, therefore sparing the building from further damage.
In fact, the damage to the popular restaurant was so minimal it reportedly reopened the next day.
“I think if we get one round of fried chicken goin’ in here you won’t smell the smoke at all,” one of Deen’s son, Jamie Deen, told the Savannah Morning News after the fire.
Jamie said his brother Bobby, his mother and her husband Michael Groover rushed to the restaurant immediately after the fire broke out. (Which explains Paula’s attire.)
According to local papers, firefighters at first refused to let the 61-year-old celebrity cook turned actress beyond the yellow security tape. (Paula reportedly ran under the tape and was quickly returned behind it.) But, she was later allowed to enter the eatery after a firefighter recognized her.
The Lady & Sons has been a staple in Deen’s hometown of Savannah since 1996. These days it attracts visitors from around the world and is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions. It became an international success soon after “Paula’s Home Cooking,” debuted on the Food Network in 2002.
The well-known southern chef has since expanded her empire to include another Food Network primetime show, one for her two sons, a slew of cookbooks, a magazine, and a line cookware products.