Satchel’s reopens four days after fire destroys Lightnin’ Salvage

Satchel Raye looked on as long-time customers sifted through burnt souvenirs from his Lightnin’ Salvage gift shop Friday morning.

Four days after a raging fire destroyed the restaurant’s gift shop and bar, Satchel’s restaurant reopened for business Friday morning. It will remain open through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., before resuming normal hours.

Raye, 48, said he worked nearly 17 hour days with employees and volunteers to get the back of the restaurant cleaned up and able to open for business in three days.

Shelves placed next to the burnt remains of the shop held charred and blackened toys and pieces of “junk” that had decorated the bar.

“It was important to me to get open,” he said. “If you get a lot of people together with a single mission, you get a lot done in three days.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, he said.

The last time a fire affected Satchel’s, the damage was done to the kitchen and the restaurant was closed for three months, according to Alligator archives.

Joseph Nieves, UF geology senior, was the first to arrive at the restaurant with his girlfriend to get a souvenir from the fire, he said.

“We wanted to support the business after their loss,” the 21-year-old said.

When Nieves heard about the fire Monday night, he went to the restaurant to go watch it, he said.

“I was just worried that it spread to the main building,” he said.

But on Friday, he was able to return, this time to sit down and order a large vegan pizza and carry away a burnt hat from the shop.

Raye said he wanted to open as soon as possible so his employees would have money throughout the holidays. Others have set up online fundraisers to raise money, which he said he will give to three employees who worked exclusively in the shop and bar.

But the Lightnin’ Salvage will make a comeback, he said. Raye is working on a plan to redesign the area, building with block instead of wood and updating it to be more modern, he said.

“It’s not going to be as full of junk,” he said. “The focus is to make the space creative and efficient.”

Rebuilding will take six months to a year, and could cost over $250,000, he said.

After the fire, Raye went into planning mode, he said. Waking up Friday morning, he realized the scope of what had happened.

“I just kind of broke down a little bit,” he said. “It hit me what we lost.” 

But through the help of other local business and volunteers, Raye said his business will return stronger than ever.

He said he was overwhelmed by the community support shown on social media. He’s spent each night after the fire reading comments on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram before he goes to bed.

“I can’t even keep up honestly,” he said. “I would need hours to look at it all.”

First Magnitude Brewing Company provided a few picnic tables so customers could still eat behind the restaurant.

But if the crowds get too large, Raye is encouraging them to walk down the block to the Repurpose Project, a nonprofit recycling organization where Raye has bought most of his “junk,” to eat their pizza at tables and listen to live music.

Mike Myers, a co-founder of the Repurpose Project, said helping out his Raye was the neighborly thing to do.

Myers first heard of the fire Tuesday morning, he said.

“The first thing I thought of is the phoenix that rises out of the ashes,” he said. “Satchel is a dynamic person who will pull through a nice rebuild.”