Like Houstonist, I've never been to The Great Caruso dinner theater. It's right next to the hotel formerly known as the Adam's Mark, at which I've played bridge many times, so even though I'd never patronized the place, it felt familiar to me. As such, I'm saddened to hear of the fire that hit it over the weekend.
The Great Caruso restaurant on Westheimer and Seagler has been providing quality dining and entertainment for decades. The source of Sunday morning's fire is still unclear. The building was empty, which clearly raises more than a few red flags for the Houston Fire Department's arson unit."When you look at electricity, time of day, if the building's occupied, those are all the things that they look at," said Captain Flanley.
By day, the immense damage was easy to see and as heavy machinery began to tear down the leftovers, people began to realize the restaurant was more than a place to eat.
"People who know Houston know that it's been around for a long time," said Rose Talbot with Richfield Investments. "It's going to be a loss."
Here's their message about the fire:
We are sorry to inform you that The Great Caruso Dinner Theater suffered a fire on Sunday, December 10th. It happened at a time when the place was empty so that, thankfully, there were no injuries.We will be closed for the forseeable future.
We want to thank everyone for the outpouring of warm wishes. We now fully realize how appreciated and loved the family of performers and employees were by all of you.
We've been there a handful of times over the years and recently tried for reservations for their holiday revue (they were booked mostly solid). That place was a marvel inside, too.
I feel bad for the actors, waiters, and other workers who are suddenly unemployed now, two weeks before Christmas.
Posted by: PDiddie on December 12, 2006 4:59 AM