The historic Rancho de Chimayó Restaurante is expected to be closed for the next two weeks after a fire early Friday extensively damaged the kitchen.

“This couldn’t happen at a worse time,” said manager Holly Justice.

The Chimayó restaurant, which can seat 400 and is a favorite of tourists and travel writers, was in the midst of a busy summer season when it closed Thursday.

But on Friday morning, some of its approximately 75 employees were helping to clean up the fire damage and mess.

A 400-square-foot kitchen area in the 4,000-square-foot restaurant was extensively damaged before crews from several Santa Fe County fire stations put out the blaze, county fire department spokesman John Wheeler said.

“Apparently, the fire started outside the building, burned under the eave and into the kitchen,” he said.

Justice said insurance probably would cover the losses but that she couldn’t be sure until a claim was processed. By early Friday afternoon, workers had covered an area of roof where firefighters peeled away metal to extinguish remaining embers.

Justice said she was not certain when workers could return to their jobs and diners could sit again at their favorite tables. She said that at least some staff members might stay busy helping clean up and restore the damaged area. The Rancho de Chimayó Web site said Friday that the restaurant would reopen in about two weeks.

The building was constructed in 1890 as the farm home of Hermenegildo and Trinidad Jaramillo. Their grandson, Arturo Jaramillo, and his wife, Florence, converted the house to a restaurant in 1965.

Florence Jaramillo continued to operate it after the couple split up. In 2006, the National Restaurant Association presented her with a lifetime achievement award for her accomplishments at the century-old family home, where recipes include some gleaned from its former occupants.

Though the fire’s timing hit the owners hard, it could have done much more damage to the historic farmhouse-turned-restaurant, Justice said. Most of the 18-acre site, which includes a seven-room guest house, a gift shop and orchards, was not affected by the fire.

Firefighters, who arrived within minutes of the calls, contained the blaze in an attic above a kitchen that had been added to the original farmhouse. Justice said most of the equipment could be salvaged and used when the restaurant reopens.

“This is just equipment. It’s not memories like everybody has here,” she said. “It’s just a kitchen. Nobody was here, and nobody was hurt.”

Wheeler said a firefighter injured a knee battling the blaze but was not taken to a hospital.
Officials at the scene on County Road 98 said they did not know what caused the blaze but have not reported any evidence of arson to him, Wheeler said. He said he did not know who called emergency dispatchers about the blaze, which was first reported around midnight.

Justice said she thought a neighbor might have first reported the fire, then Jaramillo called dispatchers, and an alarm also automatically notified emergency officials.

Volunteer and full-time firefighters from Chimayó, Tesuque, Pojoaque and other Santa Fe County stations contained the blaze. A ladder truck and crew from the Eldorado Fire and Rescue Service helped remove much of the building’s tin roof by around 2:30 a.m. to expose any remaining embers, Wheeler said.

Contact David Collins at 986-3064 or dcollins@sfnewmexican.com.