Two weeks have passed since a fire ravaged Green Chile Cantina in Mission Viejo, leaving owner Lina Esqueda grappling with the aftermath of the tragedy while also battling her ongoing health journey.
“It’s been hard for all of us,” said Esqueda. “We are just keeping our heads up and leaning on each other. Our focus is my health and leaving everything in God’s hands. Prayer is what gets us through.”
The Green Chile Cantina, which offers a blend of American and Mexican cuisine, had only been open for about five months before disaster struck. On the morning of Sunday, Jan. 21, Esqueda got a call that a fire had broken out in the kitchen and destroyed the restaurant.
The kitchen and prep kitchen were completely burned out, the ceiling in the pizza kitchen collapsed and there were six holes in the roof with the rest of the ceiling collapsing, Esqueda said. There was also water damage from a broken pipe in the kitchen, which leaked into the dining area.
The fire was knocked down in about 25 minutes and caused an estimated $400,000 in damage, Orange County Fire Authority Captian Greg Barta said at the time. Fire investigators told Esqueda the cause was likely electrical, but the investigation on the source is still ongoing, she said.
The restaurant, Esqueda said, is a total loss.
“They say that the rebuild is going to take at least a year,” said Esqueda. “We are not sure what the future holds, and we are still ironing out all of the details in regards to the building.”
“Everything is messed up and destroyed, it’s all going to have to be rebuilt.”
Due to the fire, Esqueda’s 27 employees have had to find other work or go on unemployment, she said.
Esqueda was already struggling to balance the demands of keeping her business operational while prioritizing her health needs at the time of the fire. Just days before Green Chile Cantina opened its doors for the first time in August, Esqueda was given a diagnosis of stage three follicular…
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