Fire damages popular Fresno Tower District restaurant 'Oggi Cosi Si Mangia Italian'

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A popular Italian restaurant in Fresno's Tower District is expected to be closed for at least six months-- after the business caught fire Thursday morning.

Oggi's is located on Olive and Van Ness and has been a staple in the community for 18 years-- serving up all the Italian classics.

But a fire there caused enough damage to force the restaurant to shut down for repairs.

"What business? We're done. This is the sad part. This is our busy time. I have so many weddings and events and things booked already. We're going to lose a lot this year," Oggi's owner Louie Maglieri said.

Maglieri says he got alerts from his alarm company about movement at his property at around 7:15 Thursday morning and found his cameras were all offline.

He then got a text saying his business was on fire.

"This to me means something's fishy," Maglieri said. "This happened before. We've been burglarized many times and the same thing happened the last time we were burglarized"

Maglieri says Oggi's has been burglarized 7 times before, but never this bad.

Fresno Fire says the blaze started near the kitchen, but the cause remains under investigation.

RELATED: Dine and Dish: Authentic Italian food at Oggi Cosi Si Mangia in Fresno's Tower District

"The biggest hardship will be for the employees. I told them to go file for unemployment or whatever they have to do because I can't. There's nothing I can do," Maglieri said.

Maglieri says employees usually start work at around 3 pm so no one was inside the building and he's glad no one was hurt.

His insurance company told him it could take 6 months or more to reopen and repairs could cost around $250,000.

Despite the setback, Maglieri remains positive about reopening.

"Come back and eat when we're ready to go," Maglieri said with a smile.

He apologizes to customers for any inconvenience and hopes anyone with booked parties and events can find a replacement for Oggi's.

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