It has been a difficult week for restaurant owner Raffaele de Marco.
His landmark in Baie-D’Urfé, Ristorante Linguini, was destroyed by a fire only hours after closing Saturday night.
“When I turned the corner and I saw it, it was like an inferno,” he told Global News.
The restaurant had been like a second home for many of its regular customers, some of whom frequented the establishment ever since it opened in 1993.
READ MORE: Popular West Island restaurant destroyed by fire
Some of de Marco’s fondest memories are of watching his customers grow up.
“I’ve done baptisms there, then I did communions, confirmations, dating and now I see them getting engaged – it’s like wow,” he said.
Despite heartbroken and disappointed regulars, de Marco has focused most of his attention on his staff.
He fears for their future as most of them have gone on to unemployment insurance until they can get back on their feet.
“In all, I had about 18 on staff and we’re a tight family,” de Marco said. “We helped each other out; we understood each other. The chemistry was just unbelievable.”
It’s a tight family that stands by him. They are patiently waiting for de Marco to reopen so they can pick up where they left off.
“Our plans are to reopen. We’ll try to rebuild as much as possible to bring back the unique look that the building had. It was one-of-a-kind,” he said.
Regulars will be happy to know his goal is to have Ristorante Linguini up and running within six to eight months.
He said he owes it to them to come back better and stronger than ever.
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