By Serena Solomon and Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Staff
SOHO — A fire tore through the ceiling of the high-end NoLiTa comfort food outposts Macbar and Delicatessen on Prince Street Wednesday morning.
The fire at the hip foodie magnet, where models and celebrities flock for $15 plates of take-out mac and cheese at Macbar or sit-down meals like lamb shank and bouillabaisse at Delicatessen, broke out shortly after 8 a.m., said an FDNY spokesman.
Work crews had been doing maintenance on the restaurant's air conditioning system in advance of the summer season and were finishing up just as the restaurant was opening up for breakfast, said Michael Ferraro, 30, executive chef of Delicatessen and Macbar.
"I guess when they were finishing up when some kind of spark in the ceiling went off," Ferraro said.
Ferraro called the FDNY and crews evacuated the restaurant while they investigated the fire in the dining room's ceiling, he said.
Fire crews had the fire under control by 10:05 a.m. and there were no reported injuries, according to the fire deparment.
The restaurant's ceiling was extensively damaged by water from fire hoses, said Andrew Roth, 38, the restaurant's sous chef.
Electricians and city officials will have to check out the dining room before Delicatessen can re-open but Ferraro hopes to have the restaurant back up and running by tomorrow evening or Friday.
"Give us a couple of days to get it pretty and then come check it out," Roth said.
"When it's all said and done, we're actually lucky," Ferraro said. "It could've been worse if it happened at a different time. Yeah, it's a beautiful day and just as in the past couple of days people want to enjoy an open air restaurant, but you gotta roll with the punches."
