Fire Destroys Trackside Tavern, 5th Earl Sustains Heavy Damage
Decatur Metro | January 20, 2009 | 8:59 amUPDATE V: One of the 5th Earl owners, David, checks in and promises to come back “stronger and better than before” in the comments section.
UPDATE IV: Ali Laipple has posted a gallery of photos of the damage on her Facebook page. Click the pic below to view.
h/t: InDecatur
Photo Courtesy of Ali Laipple's Facebook Page
UPDATE III: Paula provides a cell phone pic of the Trackside damage. Can’t see inside, but windows are shattered and there is definitely a lot of damage…
UPDATE II: According to the Fire Dept, Trackside was destroyed by the fire. Asst. City Manager Lyn Menne reports…
“The fire department reports that 5th Earl did receive smoke and water damage and additional structural damage because of a shared roof system. Trackside was destroyed. No word on insurance yet or the cause of the fire but we’ll keep you posted and no information about whether there wasmoke damage at Bistro Box or Wiggle. The Decatur community rallied behind our local businesses during similar disasters on Church Street and later at College Avenue and hopefully they will rise to the occassion again.”
See Lyn’s full comment below.
Trackside is a Decatur institution. I echo Lyn’s hope that we can again pull together to help revive these Decatur businesses.
UPDATE I: Eyewitness reports from residents (in the comments section) seem to indicate that both Trackside and 5th Earl took major hits from this fire.
First on DM…
I’ve gotten two reports this morning thus far about a fire in the Trackside/5th Earl building along College Ave. Not yet sure which establishments were affected. Bistro in a Box and Wiggle are also located in that building.
Hope all are safe.
Stay tuned.
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Corner of College and Candler is totally blocked. Good luck getting to work, Winnona Parkers!
Was stuck in that traffic around 8am. Trackside looked to be in pretty bad shape (still smoking and lots of fire damage) from what I could see. 5th Earl had windows blown out, but couldn’t see total damge. Didn’t appear that it had reached to Bistro Box buidling. Sad.
Hope all are well.
Love 5th Earl, I’d hate to see it go.
Thanks Paula and Darkstar. Wow…this sounds really bad. Keep your eyewitness accounts coming…
Woke up this morning at 5:45 with a blanket of smoke over the Winnona Park area. It seems to have cleared up about 30 minutes later.
Went out at 8:30 and could see what looked like very serious damage at Trackside. Frankly it looked gutted but I didn’t get a close look.
[…] Decatur Metro reports Trackside Tavern and the Fifth Earl Market were damaged by fire this morning. […]
Trackside was absolutely gutted and charred. Looked like 5th Earl mainly had water damage, but a truck was blocking it, so I didn’t get a really good look. Very sad – hope no one was hurt.
The fire department reports that 5th Earl did receive smoke and water damage and additional structural damage because of a shared roof system. Trackside was destroyed. No word on insurance yet or the cause of the fire but we’ll keep you posted and no information about whether there wasmoke damage at Bistro Box or Wiggle. The Decatur community rallied behind our local businesses during similar disasters on Church Street and later at College Avenue and hopefully they will rise to the occassion again. It’s tough out there for small businesses right now and this type of catastrophy can push them over the edge. We love 5th Earl because it is a “Winnona Park” restaurant that we can walk to. As soon as we find out details about the fire and efforts to help, we’ll send updates and post to the city’s blog too. This is a not so gentle reminder to our local businesses to check your insurance policies and make sure they include coverage for “business interruption.”
Thank you Lyn.
[…] Decatur Metro and its commenters report Decatur’s Trackside Tavern was destroyed by fire this morning. Fifth Earl Market, the restaurant adjacent to Trackside, was damaged as well. Bookmark It […]
[…] are still coming in, but Decatur Metro reports that sometime this morning Trackside Tavern and the neighboring 5th Earl Market on College […]
I live in the Avery Glen apartment complex next door. College Avenue has been reopened to through traffic, but beware the sand on the road!
Oh no! I use to frequent Trackside in single days. Hate to see this.
We love 5th Earl and hope they can reopen soon!!
Holy. Shit. If you hear of anything further, please let us know! This is very sad to hear.
This is so sad. I loved that place and it had so much history. I can’t even count how many great nights ended at trackside. We must REBUILD IT!
I can’t believe it! I was there last night for a party drinking beer and shooting pool. We left around 2am. From what I heard from friends/coworkers that are good friends with the owner… it’s gone. All that is left is the shell of a great place. It happened about 530 am, luckily the staff had all left around 430. They think it started in the office, but no one knows the cause yet. Someone from the party left their car in the lot over night and sadly it was parked right outside the office. I heard the front end of the vehicle had damage, bumper melted etc. The whole thing is very sad and I hope the community pulls together to bring back our fun little trackside watering hole!!!
That sucks. I have fond memories of karaoke on Wednesday nights after my First Amendment class back in ’03. Hope it’s rebuilt.
Da…ng. I guess no trivia tonight then? What are we gonna do without our bacon cheese fries with extra ranch? Seriously though. This sucks. I love that place.
I just posted a photo of the exterior.
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/2009/01/20/trackside-tavern-destroyed-by-fire/
Trackside looks bad. I saw people moving two wooden benches out of Fifth Earl into the unoccupied store front next door.
From the outside, it appears Trackside and Fifth Earl were the only spaces damaged. The other store on that strip, Wiggles (sp?) looked like it was open.
I talked to one of the guys while they were boarding it up and he said the owner hasn’t mentioned whether he will rebuild or not. I got a peek in when I walked past and the middle bar section hadn’t completely burned (I could still see the bar and booths) though I don’t know how much would be salvageable after smoke and water damage. The pool room is completely destroyed. There is a lot of love in this community for that bar and if the owner wants to rebuild I know there are plenty of people willing to help out.
Has anyone spoken to the owners of the 5th Earl?
I’m really upset – my whole family and many of my friends have become big fans of 5th Earl. I had just gotten their update email and was so looking forward to a visit. My thoughts are with the owners and with the Trackside owners too.
Any comment from the building owner?
I am David one of the owners of the 5th Earl. Obviously am completely devastated at the moment. However, We will be back, stronger and better than before.
Thank you all for your support & belief in us and what we do.
Please keep us in your thoughts. Will keep informed.
David
All the best to you guys David.
Once you’ve regrouped, let me know what I can do to help organize and spread the word about any sort of rebuilding/reopening effort you have.
Same goes for Trackside.
Hurry, David!
wow…that really sucks!
trackside had such charm and character in a strange urine soaked way. even if they rebuild it….it will never be the same. it was the place to be after twain’s or birdie’s kicked you out at 2:30.
but i know the resiliency of decatur and it’s residents and i know they will be back and better than ever.
This stinks!!! So many memories…
This stinks!!! So many memories…
This stinks!!! So many memories…
This stinks!!! So many memories…
This stinks!!! So many memories…
David & Brian,
My heart broke for you guys when I drove by earlier today. Summer and I just had lunch in there on Sunday and were talking about how much we’re going to miss it when we move to Ireland. Best of luck with the rebuild. Something tells me there are going to be throngs of people eager to help get you back on your feet.
Hang in there,
Jason
Wow, a friend and were just there last night; we almost opted not to go, kind of eerie and poignant that we got one last night of dirnking and pool shooting at our favaorite Decatur haunt. I’ve lived in Atlanta for a little over 10 years, and although I don’t live in Decatur anymore, I’d still go out of my way for Trackside.
The pool tables and air hockey table worked when they wanted to, the locals were ahhhh, colorful after imbibing a pint or 12 (hell, I waqs one of them), there was always a dog or two tied to the tables outside (most of them friendly…) the faucets in the women’s room dripped so much they probably singularly contributed to last year’s water shortage, there was a time when Trackside was such a dive it made Smith’s Olde Bar look like Ritz in comparison, but damned if it wasn’t the best watering hole in town. Robert made the best jerk chicken wings ever to cross my lips, the barstaff always remembered who tips, just don’t say a cross word about the Bulldogs in there…hope you bounce back, Trackside, you will be sorely missed. Cheers- Gina
too bad about trackside. They should never let people smoke in the back corner or the pool room.
I cried when I saw this. I was there two nights ago, on the 18th. I took my friend from out of town there twice last week; it was the last place we went before he went home yesterday. I met so many cool people there, had so many fun times. It stayed open later than any other bar in Atlanta (to my knowledge). I first messed around with the boy I love there, in his car in the parking lot. It’s a terrible tragedy and I hope it can be rebuilt…
David I am devastated for you but I know how strong you are and how you will prosper in the end. We are all here for you. Let me know if there is anything I can do.
I was crushed when I found this out. I recently moved to Missouri from Decatur after I graduated from Agnes, and going to Trackside was always one of the joys of going back to Georgia. My entire senior year is marked by memories from Trackside, and I look forward to its resurrection. My thoughts are with you, David.
I was crushed when I found this out. I recently moved to Missouri from Decatur after I graduated from Agnes, and going to Trackside was always one of the joys of going back to Georgia. My entire senior year is marked by memories from Trackside, and I look forward to its resurrection. My thoughts are with you, David.
I was crushed when I found this out. I recently moved to Missouri from Decatur after I graduated from Agnes, and going to Trackside was always one of the joys of going back to Georgia. My entire senior year is marked by memories from Trackside, and I look forward to its resurrection. My thoughts are with you, David.
I was crushed when I found this out. I recently moved to Missouri from Decatur after I graduated from Agnes, and going to Trackside was always one of the joys of going back to Georgia. My entire senior year is marked by memories from Trackside, and I look forward to its resurrection. My thoughts are with you, David.
I was crushed when I found this out. I recently moved to Missouri from Decatur after I graduated from Agnes, and going to Trackside was always one of the joys of going back to Georgia. My entire senior year is marked by memories from Trackside, and I look forward to its resurrection. My thoughts are with you, David.
Does anyone know the name of the owner or contact info? I work for a general contractor and I specialize in renovations and would like to know if I could help the owner put a budget number to getting this place back up and running. I live in Oakhurst and used to work for Thinking Man down the street.
Stay classy Melissa…
David & Brian,
I’m a regular customer, in the 5th Earl several times a week. This is just heartbreaking. You guys are in my thoughts and prayers. PLEASE post something when you start rebuilding. I’m sure a lot of people will want to help. Fellow Decaturites stand ready to rally around you!!!!
Oh that corner has such great memories! The date will stick in my mind, like when the Emory Village burned (it was Jan. 2 in about 1979). Maybe Trackside can take up temporary HQ in the old Pizza by Candlelight spot (the other corner spot in the same building)? My dad built the doors that used to be next to the torches out front there; our family always called it “Daddy’s Doors.” Trackside had some great parties out on the back lawn. The late-night kitchen was a huge convenience when a few of us would go over after work, like 2 a.m. That bar is where I went after my dad died and Steve poured me a shot of Southern Comfort and that stopped my tears.
William, I’ve removed the referenced comment.
Thank you. You can remove mine if you wish.
I hated to hear this. I love both Trackside and 5th Earl. Trackside is an institution and we need it! Hope the rebound is quick…I know it will be successful!
I used to live further up Church Street in Decatur but would sometimes wander down to Trackside for drinks and all. I actually started a No Pants Day pub crawl there years ago, probably 05 or 06. I’d like to hope that it’s back up and running by then (yet another offer to volunteer to help rebuild… at least when I’m not out of town for work).
-J
To put a positive spin on things, Crackside needed renovating anyway. This isn’t a tragedy, it’s an economic opportunity! Looking forward to the Grand Reopening…Cheers!
Just trying to help, glocken.
how sad- so many great memories at trackside…..
Damn. Didn’t expect this coming….I didn’t hang out at TSide that much after I quit working there, but damn I miss it now.
My sources tell me that it might not be reopened. Times is tough, after all.
My other sources tell me that if you want to help out a bartender in need, you can go by The Standard (on Memorial Drive, kinda downtownish) where some of the suddenly jobless bartenders will be working guest shifts this coming Friday and Sunday nights. Go help ’em out.
-Danimal
Trackside was my home away from home for the past couple years – some nights it actually was my home. Hopefully Doc Al will rebuild. I’m sure the staff won’t have any problem finding new jobs in the interim. It sure won’t be the same without Steve or Jonathan pouring me a Jack and diet. I don’t want to imagine Decatur (or my Friday nights) without Trackside!
Damn dude…
This was our place and there are so many memories. Beer, darts, the best damn hummus, photohunt, squeeky bar stools, and pure comfort. The atmosphere was one of a kind, as were the employees. I don’t know what else to say…it is so devastating.
Trackside and some wild turkey changed my life. I am happy as a result, but now upset to here the news.
[edited: no personal attacks]