BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

James Meier

NEWPORT BEACH -- Firefighters spent about eight minutes smothering a

small fire that caused about $20,000 in damage at the 38-year-old Stuft

Shack on Wednesday evening, Newport Beach Fire officials said.

Those at the beachfront hamburger stand, located at 101 E. 15th St.

since 1963, explained that a freezer compressor caught fire sometime

after the restaurant closed at 5 p.m. So no one was working there at the

time, explained Joe Angelo, son of owner Ruth Whitacre.

An hour after the fire, which began at approximately 6 p.m., Angelo

was unsure as to whether the Stuft Shack would reopen for business today.

“I think it was just smoke damage,” said Angelo, who rushed to the

restaurant as soon as he was notified. “There doesn’t seem to be any

flame damage.”

A sign on the side of the burger stand simply reads “We surf good

food.”

Newport Beach Fire Capt. Bill Bennett couldn’t agree more.

“We saved a Newport Beach landmark,” Bennett said Wednesday. “They’ve

got great burgers there.”

Bennett, who usually grabs a cheeseburger and fries at the Shack, said

three engines, two trucks and a paramedic van responded to the one-alarm

fire.