Werner: 'You have a fire at three in the morning and you find out real fast who your friends are'

A four-alarm fire at one of Shiner’s favorite restaurants for more than three decades all but leveled much of the eatery’s storerooms, the large walk-in cooler used for the company’s rather large catering business, and much of the restaurant’s kitchen and food prep areas early Friday.

Robert Werner, owner of Werner’s 594 Restaurant in Shiner which sits just a block east of the town’s main intersection, met with local newspaper during the lunch hour on Monday, a time that would normally find his parking lot full and his dining room bustling with patrons.

On that day, however, his parking lot was eerily vacant, barring a couple of contractor vehicles, and instead of making his rounds at the tables, greeting his many regulars on the floor, Werner was set up at a table in the parking lot alongside his daughter and grandson, each trying their best to take advantage of what little shade they still had left before the heat of the day truly set in.

Even from several feet away, the scent of scorched wood and burnt plastic hung sharp on the hot air, and much of the building’s backside still tossed in the same charred shambles it had been in since his backyard neighbor, Vanessa Wright, first placed the call for help at 3:21 a.m. Friday, June 16.

Seeing the devastation the fire left behind was heartbreaking enough.

"We opened our doors 33 years ago,” Werner said. “We built our lives around this place. Mother’s Days. Christmases. I tell you, it’s like we just lost a child here.”

Then there was something else, too, something that when caught by the occasional breeze just so, could prove outright gut churning. Mind you, the worst of the damage occurred where Werner stored food. All those foodstuffs had now endured their third straight day of triple-digit heat, so some of those wares had gone quite ripe.

Still, nothing could be moved, Werner said he was told. Not until the insurance adjusters had been there, at very least. Meantime, the stench got such that it made things quite unbearable in some places.

Werner and his family were there most of the morning already—and most of the weekend, too, it sounded like—steady waiting for that adjuster to show. And most of the weekend, too, in sounded like. It left him far looking straight exhausted.

Despite it all, Werner did his best to keep things positive. “It could have been so much worse than it was,” he said. “No one was hurt, not even when several of the firemen ran inside the burning structure to knock the flames back.”

Indeed, knock them back, they had. Despite the massive damages to the back of his restaurant, the front part of the dining hall was still very much intact. Even the bulk of his kitchen appliances—the ranges, griddles, refrigerators, mixers, dishwashers and ovens, most sporting their metallic stainless-steel finish—didn’t appear too worse for wear. And most important, nobody got hurt.

“The flames had already punched through the roof and were shooting a good 30 feet into the air when the first engine pulled onto the scene,” Shiner Fire Chief Billy Petru said.

The engine from Shiner arrived just minutes after Wright called for help, which was an impressive enough feat by itself, considering the time of day. Several other departments also showed for the mutual aid: Hallettsville arrived with eight men and another engine; Yoakum brought six men and its ladder truck with its powerful water cannon.

Firefighters with the Moulton Volunteer Fire Department hadn’t yet been called, but members of their team came out anyway to lend a hand. They proved most invaluable, too, Chief Petru said, for they kept the air tanks filled that the firemen used to breath, each time they ventured back inside the building to contain the blaze

“Interior฀ firefighting฀ tremendously helped us get a handle on a fire that could have been completely devastating otherwise,” Chief Petru said. He attributed every inch of success they realized with this fire to the extensive academy training that so many in the department had undertaken in recent months.

“We thank everyone who reached out to us throughout this ordeal,” he said. “We had a couple of firefighters treated by Lavaca County EMS on scene for heat related issues. While everyone is now safe and doing fine, we appreciate all the words of support and concern about our well-being

“We only ask that you keep the Werner family in your thoughts and prayers moving forward,” Petru added. “This is just the beginning for them.”

Given the best of possible circumstances, Werner said it’ll likely be three months before they could rebuild and get back up and operational as before. “That’s a minimum, I think,” he said.

His catering business should work to keep most of his staff employed until they get the restaurant back open. The Shiner KCs were one of the first to step forward to assist him, allowing him use of their kitchen at the hall to cover the catering jobs he had going right then.

Tommy Schuette agreed to some longer-term arrangements on his catering facilities, allowing Werner use of his old digs at Shiner Barbecue there at the stoplight, plus the Chumchals offered Werner use of an office space for as long as he needs, so he can get back on his feet.

“You have a fire at three in the morning and you find out real fast who your friends are,” Werner said. “And Shiner is absolutely the best place to live, both in good times and unexpected ones, too.

"We want to thank everyone for all the calls and text messages. Everyone in the Werner’s Restaurant family is ok. Thank you to the Shiner Volunteer Fire Department, Yoakum Fire Department, Hallettsville Fire Department, Moulton Volunteer Fire Department, Shiner Emergency Medical Services, and Shiner Police Department for all their work in containing the fire to a portion of the building. Thank you to the Shiner Knights of Columbus for allowing us to use their kitchen over the weekend. We are forever grateful.”