Employee Benefit to Take Place Jan. 13
On Jan. 6, a fire occurred at the Drunken Mullet located at 3304 Shoal Line Boulevard, which is on the canal in Hernando Beach. The business was open when the blaze began, but all occupants escaped without injury. According to the Hernando County Fire Rescue (HFCR), crews were dispatched to handle the conflagration around 8:40 p.m. on Saturday. They arrived to find a heavy fire and enacted a plan that quelled the fire quickly.
The Sun reached out to Hernando County Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Nick Brandt for an update on the situation at the local sports bar and restaurant. After an investigation into the incident, the PIO and Community Risk Reduction Manager stated that the cause was believed to be electrical in nature.
“The fire at the Drunken Mullet occurred in a shipping container being used as an office/storage area outside of the main structure,” said Brandt. “Preliminary investigation determined the cause to be electrical. I’m unaware of the business’s operational status as the main structure did sustain fire damage.”
Upon learning this, the Sun reached out to Tammy, the owners’ aunt and a second general manager at the Drunken Mullet, to further assess the extent of the damage. The new detached office unfortunately fell victim to faulty wiring, and the inferno blew the door off its hinges.
According to Tammy, the flames were able to be contained relatively quickly due to the fire station being just down the road from the bar. The inside dining room of the main building is damaged, and there is ceiling and roof damage on the kitchen side. The bar side managed to remain unscathed thanks to the fast action of the firefighters. There is currently no timetable on when the restaurant will resume regular operations, but a contractor is set to come in on Friday to assess the damage more thoroughly. Tammy praised the efforts of the employees for getting everyone to safety on Saturday.
“Our general manager is Crystal, and she is the one that got everyone out safely,” Tammy said. “The employees did an awesome job getting everyone out safely. People wanted to pay their tabs and they were like, ‘No, no, no, just go.’ That is our customers. They are like, ‘Okay, we got to pay our tab.’ ‘No, no, the place is on fire. We don’t care about that. We only care about your safety.’”
The establishment will be holding an employee benefit on Saturday, Jan. 13, for all the staff that were affected by the fire. The event, which is sponsored by the radio station Z102.9 The Mermaid, will feature food trucks and vendors. There will also be special performances by the Mrs. RED Band, DJ Big B, and the Ashley Lux Band throughout the afternoon. People can visit the event page on Facebook for further information about the benefit.
For those looking to support the Drunken Mullet as patrons, the pub is temporarily closed due to the fire but will be open for Saturday’s event.
“Our hearts are broken that we have to inform everyone that The Drunken Mullet suffered a damaging fire last night due to faulty wiring in our new building office,” a Facebook post by the restaurant stated. “We are just grateful for our amazing staff for getting everyone out safely while we were on our way. We also want to thank all our friends and the community for all the love and support we have been receiving.”
