Tanning Fire: CBA Fights Layoffs in Lake View During Repairs

By the time the Chicago Fire Department received the 911 call, the damage to the Lake View tanning salon on Belmont Avenue and neighboring businesses was already done.

Fire crews responded to a call at 8:19 p.m. Monday that Ultimate Exposure Tanning Salon, just one block west of the Belmont CTA stop, was up in flames. While city fire officials wouldn’t provide any specific details about the blaze, they did say a tanning bed was on fire inside the building when they arrived.

Greg Gibbs, the owner of neighboring business Chicago Bagel Authority, said emergency personnel told him the cause of the fire was either due to faulty wiring within the tanning bed or the light above the bed. Either way, the damage caused by the fire extended far beyond Ultimate Exposure.

Both CBA and neighboring salon Milios Hair Studio are momentarily shut down while restoration crews attempt to repair the damage. Just below the tanning salon, CBA suffered water and smoke damage, and needed to have its ceiling ripped out. Ultimate Exposure’s second floor neighbor Milios sustained major damage near its rear, according to CBA employees, and is also closed.

"The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. Seriously. The roof at Belmont is on fire."

“A fire truck pulled up and we all thought it was something to do with the CTA stop, but then fire crews came in and said we needed to leave,” CBA employee Pat Rourke said.

CBA updated its Facebook page while waiting outside, uploading photos with subtitles like, “The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. Seriously. The roof at Belmont is on fire. We'll keep you posted.”

And then on Tuesday after the smoke cleared, CBA asked its loyal customers to do them a favor.

“There was a big fire upstairs last night,” the status read. “Everyone is safe. The Tanning Salon upstairs is gone. Milo's is a mess. Our store is in pretty good shape, but we don't have gas yet. We'll have to wait on our insurance claim adjuster for a definitive answer. In the mean time, please please please eat and order at our Armitage store. Order online @www.eatcba.com ♥ CBA”

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On Thursday, Rourke sat in front of CBA handing out restaurant delivery menus as cleaning crews filed in and out of the building. The inside of the sandwich shop was completely covered in protective plastic, and while Ultimate Exposure and Milios was only accessible to cleaning crews, the stairway to the second floor reeked of smoke.

But the Lake View businesses aren’t taking this lying down. Rourke said he heard Milios was planning to open a pop-up location on Belmont to retain customers, and according to Gibbs, he’s doing everything he can to avoid layoffs at CBA while the Lake View location is undergoing repairs.

The restaurant released a statement Thursday afternoon about their efforts to avoid layoffs at all costs.

"Our Belmont location could be closed anywhere from a month to 6 months," the statement said. "Our store is fine, but the only way to fix the repair to the building is through our business. The most pressing concern is that we have assembled an amazing staff of smart, hard workers. We don't want anyone to miss a paycheck and we can't lose their talents. We're looking for creative ways and new revenue streams to keep everyone working through the delay."

The business will be running all of its operations out of its sister location at 953 W. Armitage Ave., and will offer the following promotions to keep current employees busy:

• Extended Hours – The Armitage location will be open later every night, including until 4 a.m. on weekends.
• Group Orders – "Get your office or large group to put together a group order from us weekly. We can assemble individually labeled bag lunches for any sized group."
• CBA 12 Pack – "Order a 12 pack of our most popular sandwiches and take them to your office or tailgate."
• Expanded Delivery – The Armitage delivery team will now deliver to the north side communities as well.
• Open Mic Night – This event will be moved to the Armitage location, every Thursday from 7-10 p.m.

"If we do that, can we count on our friends and fans for word of mouth to get the store packed in off peak hours?" the statement reads. "WE REALLY NEED THE HELP. This stinks, but is completely out of our control. ♥ CBA"

Editor's Note: This article was updated on Sept. 27 at 4 p.m. with new information from CBA.