By Khalida Sarwari
Nearly a year after it closed its doors for good, a building that once housed popular Santa Clara eatery By-Th’-Bucket mysteriously went up in flames Friday night. The space was being remodeled for a different restaurant under new ownership.
The blaze was first reported at 4565 Stevens Creek Blvd., formerly the site of By-Th’-Bucket, around 10:35 p.m., said Santa Clara fire Chief Bill Kelly. The fire reached three alarms as more than two dozen firefighters — with help from The Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety and Santa Clara County Fire Department — rushed to the shuttered classic Italian/seafood restaurant to find it engulfed in flames.
“They initially went inside to attack the fire from inside the building, but the fire erupted through the roof,” said Kelly.
For nearly 60 years, the restaurant dished out buckets of steamed clams bordelaise, catfish and cioppino until September when the Furiosi family sold it to the owners of China Delight, who apparently had been remodeling the place all year and were days away from opening it to the public.
“Yes, we’re coming back!!” said general manager Lisa Chung in a Facebook post in December. “We can’t wait to see you all again next year in Santa Clara!”
On Saturday, Jim Furiosi lamented the loss of an establishment his family co-owned with the Garcia family for decades. Many of his former employees drove out to see the wreckage for themselves in the middle of the night, he said. He and his wife, Alicia, fought back tears today as they shared memories of their beloved former restaurant.
“It deserved a better fate than to die in the middle of the night in a fire,” he said. “It’s just really sad. It’s sad for me. I see my legacy go up in flames and I feel really bad for the family as they were about to create their own legacy.”
“I hope they can rebuild,” he added.
The fire was extinguished by 12:45 a.m., and there were no injuries or threats to nearby homes. The building is still intact, the roof collapsed entirely, Kelly said.
“It’s going to destroy the entire building; it’s a total loss,” he said.
The cause of the fire remained undetermined as of Saturday evening. Kelly said, “We’re not ruling anything out.”
The collapse of the roof made it unsafe for fire investigators to gain access to the interior Saturday, Kelly said. Firefighters planned to work to secure the scene overnight, and experts with the Santa Clara County Fire Department are expected join the investigation Monday to help pinpoint a cause, he added.
Affectionately known by some diners as “The Bucket,” the restaurant was an old-school spot that displayed posters of Dean Martin and Sophia Loren next to San Francisco 49ers memorabilia and attracted people from all walks of life. Shortly after news about the fire broke out on Friday night, fans took to social media to express their sadness over the restaurant’s loss. For Mitchi Okole, By-Th’-Bucket was a nightly gathering spot and regular weekend haunt.
“It was special for me on Sunday morning during football season as they would let me and a few others get in there privately to watch the NFL games,” he recalls. “It was as if (it was) our own private bar. I miss that kind of closeness to an establishment. It was nice to have such a neighborhood place.”
