Kearns taco restaurant plans to reopen soon after repairs from attic fire

KEARNS, Utah — A restaurant in Kearns remained closed Thursday and the owners were left with cleanup after a fire broke out in the attic of Tacos El Olvido the night before.

Unified firefighters got the call to respond at around 6:40 Wednesday night. Flames weren’t visible from the outside, but the inside was filled with smoke. It took crews about 20 minutes to knock it down. 

No one was hurt because no one was at the restaurant when it started. It’s been closed since Monday because of the hot temperatures and a broken air conditioning unit.  It was scheduled to be fixed in time for the restaurant to open for the weekend.

The owners were devastated when they received the message about the fire, assuming the worst. Fortunately, fire crews managed to contain the flames to the attic. 

Owners Pilar Navarette and Raquel Padilla have been helping to feed this part of Kearns for more than two years. Before that, they were making and selling tacos out of their home. 

They said Thursday that the restaurant has been their dream since they were young. Seeing the damage brought tears to their eyes as they reflected on the work they had put into it. 

But they were grateful the damage wasn’t worse. 

“Thank goodness it didn’t burn the whole place down. So, I’d say it’s a win,” Rob Fullerton said. 

Fullerton is a general contractor who employs Navarette’s husband. When he heard about the fire he didn’t hesitate to run over to help assess the damage and begin fixing it. 

He knows how important the restaurant is for the family.

 “Very important. We kind of just invested and helped them because they were so passionate about it and the food was so good. Like stellar good,” he said.

Fullerton expected they would be back up and running, selling tacos within a week.

“We’re going to take a little bit of a hit so if anyone wants to get some great tacos, we’ll be here.”