One of the most iconic restaurants in Old Port has temporarily closed its kitchen after a fire broke out in the fireplace chimney and spread to the upstairs function room. Boone’s Fish House & Oyster Room, located on Custom House Wharf, has been closed due to storm damage caused by high winds that shifted the chimney out of place.

Darcy Smith, the owner of the restaurant, estimates that the repair costs will amount to thousands of dollars. She also confirmed that the function room would be closed for the foreseeable future. This fire occurred during a tough week for the restaurant, which was already dealing with the aftermath of two storms that battered the coast on Jan. 10 and Jan. 13. The kitchen and offices were flooded, and the rain poured through the roof, which caused more damage.

The chimney fire started at around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, and the whole building was filled with smoke. Customers were evacuated, and by 4:30 p.m., flames had spread to an upstairs dining room. Firefighters had to cut through the roof and floor to locate the fire, which was finally extinguished by around 5:30 p.m.

Boone’s Fish House & Oyster Room opened in 1898 and has changed ownership several times throughout the years. It caught fire back in 2013, just three months after it had reopened under Smith’s ownership, because of issues with the fireplace. Smith is now planning to remove the wood fireplace from the restaurant.

Despite the recent hardships, the restaurant is expected to reopen on Saturday, but the upstairs oyster room will remain closed for the time being.