Fire Ravages Midlothian Diner, Meat Mart; Residents Rally To Help

MIDLOTHIAN, IL — Fire devastated two popular village businesses when flames burned through a strip mall over the weekend, according to the Daily Southtown. The blaze began at the Midlothian Midwest Meat Market on Saturday night and then spread to Lisa's Diner, the report stated. No one was hurt in the fire, the report added.

The Midlothian Fire Department received a call about a fire in the 4000 block of 147th Street near Keystone Avenue at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, the report stated. By the time the flames were extinguished a few hours later, 17 other area fire departments had been called in to help fight the blaze, and investigators are trying to determine the cause, the report added.

Along with the meat market and diner, a nearby hair and nail salon was damaged, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Apartments behind the strip mall also caught fire, displacing two people, the report added.

The effect of this past weekend's fire isn't just apparent in the burned-out structures, but also one the lives of the owners' of the meat market and restaurant. Lisa Kenealy, who owned Lisa's Diner, told ABC 7 Chicago that she continued running the business even after her husband died a year ago.

"It was our dream," she said. "I was just trying to keep it alive. It's everything to me and my kids."

The experience — and pain — was similar for Catherine Fino, who owned Midwest Meats with her husband, Abe.

"This was our life and our livelihood," she told ABC 7. "We've been here for almost 40 years."

Residents have been saddened by the fire's destruction to their beloved Midlothian mainstays, and efforts are already under way to help Kenealy and the Finos.

"Our community will pull together to help rebuild this iconic staple in our community," Todd Strein wrote on the GoFundMe page he created for Lisa's Diner. In a day, the campaign has raised more than $1,400 of its $100,000 goal.

Another GoFundMe campaign was started for Midwest Meats. On the fundraising page, Heather Brianna, the small business owner behind the campaign, said she hopes to hold a benefit for the meat market and Lisa's Diner. She also is encouraging other area businesses "to put out cash donation jars" and splitting the proceeds between Kenealy and the Finos.

"[The Finos] have dedicated their lives to this business," Brianna wrote on the page. "Lets show them community support and help them either reopen or just be able to live after this devastation. … They just deserve to feel supported by the community they’ve dedicated their lives to."

Even without the fundraising drive, the Fino family felt that close connection with the Midlothian community, Joe Fino, Catherine and Abe's son, told ABC 7. Despite that bond, the Finos, who owned the building the market was in, haven't decided if they will rebuild their business.

"It's like we didn't have customers," Joe Fino told ABC 7. "It's like an extended family. We got Christmas cards, birthday cards, holiday gifts. When people had a new baby, they brought their kids in. Everything like that. That's the stuff we're going to miss."

And the feeling among many of the market's customers is mutual.

"Midwest Meats has been a fixture in this community for decades," Dawn Young-Kenny wrote on the store's GoFundMe page. "I hope you will be able to rebuild.

WATCH: Scenes from the fire that destroyed Lisa's Diner and the Midlothian Midwest Meat Market over the weekend.

Anyone interested in donating to Lisa Kenealy, owner of Lisa's Diner, and Catherine and Abe Fino, owners of the Midlothian Midwest Meat Market, can go to their GoFundMe websites.

More via the Daily Southtown, the Chicago Sun-Times and ABC 7 Chicago

Fire destroyed Midlothian Midwest Meat Market and Lisa's Diner in Midlothian on Saturday. (Photos by Todd Sherman | Northern Illinois FireGround Photos)