The Princess Seafood Restaurant in Noyo Harbor suffered significant damage in an overnight fire on August 28, just days before the busy Labor Day weekend. The Princess Seafood Market at the other end of the harbor was not affected.
Captain Cromer, the spokesperson for the Mendocino Sheriff’s Department, said investigators had determined the cause of the fire to be accidental.
Princess Seafood Restaurant, co-owned by Heather Sears and Wendy Holloway, is a local favorite known for its fresh-off-the-boat fish and seafood dishes. The fire has disrupted operations during what is typically one of the restaurant's busiest weekends of the year.
Sears recounted how she learned about the fire. "I received a call from the Sheriff's Department at 6 a.m.," she said. "They had been trying to reach me earlier, but I had silenced notifications on my phone. When I got the message, I immediately headed to the restaurant.
"When I got there, I saw the extent of the damage," she said. While the building is still standing, and the dock underneath is fine, the surface structures, particularly the south deck where customers enter, are heavily damaged.
Despite this, Sears and her team are working to continue operations. They plan to offer a limited menu and will have customers enter through the boathouse.
The local music community has also shown support, offering to hold benefit concerts for the business.
The fires come after a recent challenge for Princess Seafood when a political sign placed by their landlord on the building that houses the market led some Facebook users to push for a boycott. The restaurant owners say that while the sign does not represent their political views, they support free speech and will continue to focus on serving their customers.
