Blaze Destroys A Landmark -- Carnation Cafe Goes Up In Smoke

CARNATION

A two-alarm fire all but destroyed the popular landmark River Run Cafe in Carnation last night - the third major fire in this small town since June.

The latest fire also left many townspeople without a place to eat breakfast or schmooze.

An employee at a service station spotted smoke coming from the one-story, wood-frame cafe on downtown Tolt Avenue about 10:30 p.m. and called the fire department.

By the time units from Eastside Fire & Rescue arrived minutes later, heavy smoke and flames had already enveloped the 88-year-old building. Firefighting crews from Fall City, Redmond and Duvall were called to assist.

But not in time to save the River Run. The blaze left the interior of the cafe gutted and the center portion of the roof caved in. Only the outside walls were left standing, said Assistant Fire Chief Lee Soptich.

Some furniture was saved by firefighters, but Soptich called the cafe "a total loss."

The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said, but it is not considered a suspicious blaze.

The River Run building has worn many faces throughout the years. Built by Dr. William Cheney in 1911, it served both as his medical office and as the Tolt Drug Store and Soda Fountain. Cheney's specialty was chocolate sundaes.

For the past 54 years, the building has housed a number of restaurants. About five years ago, Rick and Debbie Pezzner purchased what was then the Original Brown Bag and reopened it as the River Run Cafe.

The River Run was the only eatery in Carnation open for breakfast and has been a morning meeting place for regulars who stop by for coffee or breakfast every day.

On June 30, a fire destroyed a nearly 100-year-old building that housed Eldorado Stone and a NAPA auto-parts store. On Sept. 3, an early morning fire leveled the production section of an Eldorado building a few blocks from the first fire.