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 Fire destroyed much of the interior of a landmark St. Paul restaurant Thursday night.
Yarusso Bros. Italian Restaurant on Payne Avenue had to be evacuated
after the blaze broke out in the kitchen's fan exhaust system around
7:30 p.m.On Friday, the family began salvaging pieces of the history from the
building. Yarusso's claims to be St. Paul's oldest family-owned
restaurant that was established in 1933 by the current owners'
grandfather Frank.
"I guess he used to bring food down in the wagon. We're talking way
back---all lived around here, neighborhood place, kind of grew," said
Freddie Yarusso
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The family told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS they are still reeling from the loss, but they're confident they will rebuild.
"I think the biggest thing is letting people down. We won't be open
for three months, have all these people coming here on a regular basis.
This is their home," said Annette Yarusso.
Investigators said the fire caused $140,000 in damage, but the
structure is sound. One firefighter was treated for a minor injury at
Regions Hospital.
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