Fire Forces Times Square Favorite Carmine’s To Close

An electrical fire forced popular Times Square Italian restaurant Carmine’s to close early Friday morning.

The fire was caused by an underground transformer right outside the restaurant’s 200 West 44th St. location, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, Carmine’s says on Twitter. Photos show smoke engulfing the restaurant’s entrance as firefighters arrived on scene.

All employees were evacuated and no one was hurt, the restaurant says. “We will be closed today, and are working as fast as possible to get the restaurant re-opened,” a message on its website states.

All reservations will be moved to its sister restaurant Virgil’s Real Barbecue, which sits less than a block away at 152 West 44th St., NBC New York reports. Carmine’s other location on the Upper West Side, at 2450 Broadway, will also remain open today.

Carmine’s recently hosted former vice president Joe Biden, who swung by for some chicken parmigiana before a show.

See a video from the scene below.

• ‘It Just Blew Up’: Fire Breaks Out at Carmine’s in Times Square [NBC NY]