CLEVELAND (WJW) – Johnny Gargano is a WWE wrestling superstar who grew up in the Greater Cleveland Area and appears on Friday Night Smackdown on FOX 8.
On Monday, the 36-year-old revealed on social media that he and his family are “heartbroken” about a devastating a fire on Sunday night that destroyed the restaurant the family has operated on the city’s near west side for nearly half a century.
The large blaze swept through a section of store fronts on West 25th Street, across the street from the campus of MetroHealth Medical Center.
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A team of nearly 70 Cleveland firefighters battled the two-alarm blaze for hours.
Investigators say they were making good progress in knocking down the fire and keeping the flames from spreading to a neighboring gas station, when a water main break suddenly depleted the water that was being fed to two hydrants they were using.
The flames sparked up again and firefighters had to use additional fire companies to relay water to the scene.
Neighborhood residents say they are grateful for the effort to protect them and their homes.
“I was thinking ‘I hope that fire doesn’t come over by this gas station and blow it up because that will take out this entire neighborhood right here,’” said Steve O’Malley, who lives a short distance from the fire scene.
One of the businesses that was destroyed in the fire was Gargano’s Restaurant and Catering, which has been a fixture on West 25th Street for decades.
The restaurant became a symbol of perseverance in professional wrestling circles for those familiar with the life story of Gargano, who was raised in Lakewood and attended St. Edward High School.
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Gargano revealed over the years that he was told that he was not big enough to make it in pro wrestling, but said the lessons he learned from his father and the family restaurant inspired him to keep trying. Earlier this summer, he became a WWE world tag team champion.
In a post on X on Monday, Gargano wrote, “I figured I should touch on this because people are finding out, and I know a lot of wrestling fans were looking forward to going to my Dad’s restaurant when they were in Cleveland for Summerslam. [Sunday] night, there was a fire and my Dad’s restaurant was badly damaged. I’m grateful that my Dad was not there and is okay. He is 82 years old, this is his life’s work. He has worked in that building every day for almost 50 years. I basically grew up there and now it’s just gone. It is extremely heartbreaking for my family.”
Investigators say they are still trying to determine what caused the fire that led to more than $700,000 in damage.
Among other things, they are checking video from surveillance cameras to see what was happening around the building before the fire started.
One firefighter, who was injured while battling the blaze, was treated at MetroHealth and released.
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