'Everything that was lost can be replaced': Residents, businesses deal with fire aftermath

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Over a week after a fire left three restaurants temporality closed and 18 people displaced, those impacted are trying to move forward.

"It's definitely unsettling because if she wouldn't have woken me up, I don't really know what would've happened," displaced resident Kaylin Hart said.

Hart was home alone and asleep when a fire broke out in the restaurant below her east side apartment on Tuesday, June 6.

"A neighbor very graciously woke me up and got me out of there," Hart explained.

Hart said initially, her unit was only filled with smoke from the blaze.

"Unfortunately, the fire flared back up while we were all asleep and just basically crawled up the walls into our apartment and kind of destroyed the whole thing," she said.

Due to the damage, Hart and her three roommates cannot return to the unit. She said they are receiving aid from the Red Cross, such as food and clothing, and are planning to move into a different apartment by the end of this week. They are currently in a temporary apartment provided by property owner Michael Vitucci.

The fire, which started in Kawa Ramen & Shushi restaurant on 2321 N Murray Ave., damaged the apartments above and impacted two neighboring restaurants, Izzy Hops Swig & Nosh and Tavolino.

"[My employee] was in the kitchen, and he said, 'Peter, there's smoke filling in the kitchen," Tavolino owner Peter Dietrich said.

Dietrich said though his restaurant only sustained, they will not be able to open until at least early July.

"I've got 30 employees that I'm responsible for, and that's really my biggest concern," he said. "We want to go back to doing what we do best, and that's taking care of our guests."

A GoFundMe has been created to help its employees while the restaurant remains closed.

"Everything that was lost can be replaced. So, very fortunate in that regard," Dietrich said.

Vitucci tells CBS 58 that three of the five apartment units have been cleared for residents to return, including four members of the UW-Milwaukee women's basketball team.

"It's definitely a bummer, but I also know the night could've ended very differently, so I would much rather be replacing stuff than what could've happened," Hart said.