LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Japanese restaurant located in a downtown Louisville building severely damaged in a massive fire last week is hoping to stop the city from completely demolishing the building and closing its doors permanently.

Osaka Fire

The five-story commercial building in the 400 block of West Market Street in downtown Louisville caught fire just before midnight. Sept. 14, 2023. (WDRB Photo)

Early Thursday morning, more than 100 firefighters battled the blaze at the five-story building located at 426 West Market Street. Fire crews arrived on scene within two minutes to find smoke and flames coming out of the commercial building. 

It took crews hours to completely extinguish the three-alarm fire. As of the time of this writing, the cause of the fire is still unknown.

Maj. Kevin Fletcher, chief of Metro Arson, said Tuesday that it will be time consuming to determine a cause. He said the building is not safe for investigators to enter, so they're using drones and robots to collect data. Fletcher said part of an investigation like this also includes getting interviews. 

The only tenant of the building is the Osaka Japanese Restaurant, which occupies the ground floor space in the building. The other floors are vacant.

The Salad Chic, which is located next door at 428 West Market Street, suffered extensive water damage as crews battled the blaze. That restaurant is boarded up and closed.

The Salad Chic restaurant in downtown Louisville is boarded up after a fire. Image from Sept. 19, 2023

On Monday, Sept. 18, the city issued the owners of Osaka Japanese Restaurant a notice of emergency order to demolish the building, citing, "imminent danger of failure or collapse."

"Public safety is paramount," Robert Kirchdorfer, director of the Department of Codes and Regulations, said in a written statement Wednesday. "Our inspectors are actively monitoring the site to protect against additional collapse and ensure the safety of passersby and neighboring buildings. The city is in active conversations with the owner and their engineer KPFF to develop a plan for the future of the site, and we are hopeful that portions of the structure can be preserved."

But according to court documents, the owners of Osaka Japanese Restaurant hired KPFF, a civil engineering firm, to perform a structural analysis of the building. The firm determined that only a partial demolition was necessary because only 20% of the building was damaged. 

"In our opinion, the damage is sufficiently limited to allow for repair and replacement measures to allow the structure to continue its usable life," the firm's report stated. 

As a result, the owners of Osaka Japanese Restaurant filed a request for a temporary restraining order stopping the city from demolishing the building. That request will be reviewed by Jefferson Circuit Judge Julie Kaelin.

"We are working with the city to see if the building and restaurant can be saved," said Bart Greenwald, an attorney representing the owners of the restaurant.

In a filing, the owners of the restaurant say they hope to institute the partial demolition recommendations from KPFF and hire a qualified demolition contractor as soon a possible.

"Instituting the remedial measures instead of demolishing the building would allow the Osaka restaurant to reopen as soon as the building is fully repaired instead of closing its doors forever," the filing states. "It would also save the structure of this historical building and its ornate façade."

Notice posted on Osaka restaurant in downtown Louisville

In a separate incident this summer, a Smoketown warehouse had to be demolished after a large fire. The fire destroyed the warehouse in mid-June. Firefighters were ordered to pull back just 20 minutes before part of the building collapsed at Jackson and Caldwell Streets.

The warehouse was owned by Wayside Christian Mission and was used as a storage facility. The notice to refer the building for demolition was posted just days after the fire.

In the latest update from Wayside Christian Mission, Chief Operating Officer Nina Moseley said Wayside still owns the property but continues to search for a new storage facility. It will be a topic of discussion at Tuesday's board meeting. 

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