Fire from spontaneous combustion closes kitchen of popular wing spot

With football season underway, Columbus will have to do without one of its most popular chicken wing spots, at least for now.

Over the weekend, the kitchen of Shaker’s Public House caught fire, and will likely be closed for a month, owner Spencer Campbell told 614Now.

Campbell said the fire began due to a pile of towels that spontaneously combusted, which is uncommon as a cause of fires, but happened earlier this year when the Thurman Cafe caught fire.

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According to Campbell, the fire actually wasn’t what caused the most serious issues to the kitchen.

“Real damage came from the sprinkler system. It ran for hours on end. Water flooded everything in the back overflowing the fryers,” he said. “It didn’t alert the firehouse due to low water pressure. Inside a sprinkler head is a pin that alerts the firehouse that is controlled by water pressure, but the water pressure at [our building] was only half of what it was supposed to be.”

Currently, the Shakers team is in cleanup mode. 

“The water system filled the eight fryers and poured that grease over every inch of the floor and even under the wall into our neighbors,” Campbell said. 

Shaker’s will reopen its front bar area this week, and will attempt to bring in food trucks until the kitchen is operational again.

This is the second time the restaurant and bar, which is located at 480 E. Wilson Bridge Rd., STE A, has suffered fire damage. In 2023, Shakers original location on Georgesville Road was destroyed in a fire. It reopened at its current home the following year.

Shakers also operates a sister bar and eatery owned by Campbell, Dapper Dog Tavern, which is located at 4056 Broadway in Grove City.

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