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A fire of undetermined origin ripped through a landmark Palms Supper Club near Hatfield July 9, causing an estimated $600,000 in damage and destroying the restaurant.
Black River Falls Fire Chief Steve Schreiber said Monday the investigation could not determine the cause of the fire, which was reported by a delivery person who was making a delivery shortly after noon. There was no one in the building at the time of the fire, which Schreiber said is not considered suspicious.
The fire appeared to have started in the older portion of the building, which dates to the 1930s, Schreiber said. Additional investigation by insurance department specialists may cast more light on the cause of the fire, he said.
The 6,319-square foot building is owned by John and Peggy Hayden of Merrillan. The Haydens could not be reached for comment. Schreiber said the building was insured.
Eight fire departments and 27 firefighters from Black River Falls, Hatfield, Merrillan, City Point, Melrose, Hixton, Alma Center and the Department of Natural Resources battled the blaze for more than seven hours.
More than 88,000 gallons of water was used to extinguish the fire, Schreiber said. No injuries were reported.
The delivery person who reported the fire first called Clark County Dispatch, which then notified Jackson County. There was heavy smoke coming from the building and fire showing out a window when firefighters arrived, Schreiber said.
The nature of the building, which included additions to the original structure, made the blaze difficult to fight, Schreiber said.
Some records show the original building dating to 1938 as a bar. Harry and Ethel Palm purchased the business and started a supper club in 1947.
The restaurant became famous for chicken in the basket and was known for its inexpensive food and drinks. Harry served as the bartender and Ethel was in charge of the kitchen.
The couple loved wildlife and had the restaurant decorated with mounted animals and birds.
The Palms sold the restaurant to David and Annabel Wilhelm in 1967, who did some remodeling and made improvements. The Haydens have owned the restaurant for the past two years.
(Information compiled by Toddy Porath was used in this story.)
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Dave Wilhelm wrote on Jul 20, 2008 9:09 PM:
We owned this place for about 10 yrs and raised our family here. I built about half the place and have many good memories of workers, customers and friends. The building was originally a dance hall for the Bohemian community who settled there. Harry and Ethel Palm started the chicken business and owned it for many years. We used their same recipes and my wife Annabelle who was a wonderful cook carried on the tradition of fine food. I sold the business, finished my college, went back into Army and retired here in 1991. I retired as a COL. That is sort of poetic isn't it. "