A Fiery Farewell for Pato's

The charred remains of Pato's Tacos (Photo By John Anderson)

For 15 years, Roldan Ramirez went to sleep every night dreading the phone call he received March 5: That a fire had destroyed Pato's Good Tacos, his restaurant on 381/2 Street in Cherrywood. The blaze cost Ramirez his income source and hundreds of thousands of dollars in investments, destroyed a cozy Eastside outlet for cheap taco dinners and live music, and eliminated one of Austin's most popular places for groups holding benefits for various causes.

The Austin Fire Dept. reports conclude that the fire was started unintentionally by homeless people who were camping behind Pato's and burning materials to stay warm. What remains of the charred building now represents a lingering issue for Cherrywood residents: How to address their neighborhood's transient population. For several years, transients and panhandlers have been drawn to the area for its railroad tracks and the busy intersection at 381/2 and I-35. Some of them suffer from mental illnesses, alcoholism, or other health-related problems; on a nearby street last week lay a discarded cardboard sign, "Have AIDS, need money."

According to Ramirez, Capital Metro -- which owns the railroad tracks behind Pato's -- was replacing railroad ties and stacked several dozen of them against the back wall of his restaurant. On the night before the blaze, people camping behind Pato's pulled some of the ties off the pile and used them as benches, then built a small fire to keep warm. "The wind was blowing [away from the restaurant], so nothing happened," Ramirez said. But on the following night, the cold winds blew in the opposite direction, and whisked a few sparks toward a nearby wooden fence, igniting a fire. The flames quickly spread to Pato's back patio and to the restaurant proper, which Ramirez says was destroyed in 15 minutes. "It burned down so fast that by the time firemen were there, they couldn't save it."

To make matters worse, the insurance policy on Pato's had lapsed. "It wasn't canceled -- it was just not renewed," said Ramirez. He believes his insurance agency bears some responsibility, because he had been trying without success since last fall to reach his agent by phone, and had decided to resolve the issue within days of the fire. The policy had offered staff some coverage in case they lost their jobs due to a fire or other accident at the restaurant, but with no policy in place, they'll receive nothing.

The building didn't belong to Ramirez, but he owned all of the components of the restaurant, including the kitchen equipment, tables and chairs, jukebox, and fixtures. The owners told him they can begin rebuilding in the next few weeks, but it would cost $200,000 to $300,000 to replace and rebuild Pato's, he estimates. The insurance company doesn't want to cover the damages, he adds, prompting him to seek legal counsel.

Several Cherrywood residents told the Chronicle that the fire points to a need for the neighborhood to formulate a plan of action regarding transients -- particularly those who trespass on private property and businesses. But as one resident who asked to remain anonymous observed, the neighborhood lacks consensus. Results of a neighborhood safety poll conducted last year (posted online at www.groups.yahoo. com/group/NeighborNet/message/1179) shows that 70% of the 54 respondents agreed or "strongly" agreed that the Cherrywood Neighborhood Association should work with APD and property owners along 381/2 Street to remove "homeless derelicts"; 13% disagreed, perhaps turned off by such mean-spirited language.

"Homeless bashing doesn't characterize our neighborhood in general," said CNA Chairwoman Bree Buchanan. She worries that the fire will stoke negative reactions some people have toward homeless people. The number of transients hanging out in her neighborhood hasn't increased as far as she knows, but their general presence is consistent. A lack of social service agencies in the neighborhood doesn't help matters, she adds. "If we have homeless people in our neighborhood, what do we do?"

According to Carlos Casas, the APD district representative who oversees Cherrywood, some business owners in the area have been aggressive about keeping transients off their property by issuing people a formal criminal trespass warning in the presence of APD officers, building fences, or clearing their property of materials that homeless people might use to erect shelters. Ramirez says he never filed a warning or complaint because he knew little about the people who loitered behind his restaurant, and could never be sure they wouldn't retaliate by setting Pato's on fire. "I knew eventually there would be a problem," he said, "but it happened when my pants were down."

Buchanan says the CNA steering committee will devote part of their March 13 meeting to discussing ways to help Ramirez get back on his feet. Meanwhile, some people have approached Ramirez with the idea of holding a benefit or two, but he acknowledges that the money raised probably wouldn't be enough to cover even a new stove, let alone a restaurant.

The Saturday before the blaze, Ramirez says, a group of 30 who had gathered at Pato's for a birthday party told him they'd been coming since the restaurant had opened its doors. "That night," he said, "we all left thinking, 'Pato's has really come a long way. It's really looking good right now.'" He was looking forward to the fundraiser that District 51 candidate Eddie Rodriguez had planned for March 5 -- the day following the fire -- and South by Southwest, a big money-making week. And after 15 years, he was finally ready to step back a little and hand over some of the decisionmaking duties to his management team. "The restaurant's been our backbone," he said. "I've never been in this position, so I don't know what to say or do."