05/11/2024
To the Palace family & friends -
I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you!! The support and care I've received the past few months has been nothing less than incredible. I will never forget it nor any one of you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I miss seeing you all at the Palace.
The Palace opened in 1938, was in it's 86th year of business and for me, personally, I was starting my 46th year on May 12th. On the night of February 8th, the Palace suffered a devastating fire. Talk about something coming out of left field!! At 9:45 pm, Richie Guidice, the mayors chief of staff, personally called to tell me there was a fire at the Palace, the fire department was already on scene and that the fire was confined the grill area of the restaurant (thank god!). My immediate reaction was that it wasn't a big deal, we'd be able to clean it asap and reopen in a few days -- how foolish of me.
When I got to the Palace and saw the extent of damage, I couldn't believe my eyes. Was I dreaming?!?! OH MY GOD - the whole restaurant was destroyed. So sad. My life's work and my 3rd child was literally GONE. I want to personally thank the Chicago Fire Department and the Chicago Police Department for all they did that night - you guys are rock stars in my book. I am completely devastated by the fire, but eternally grateful that no one was injured or hurt from the incident.
Immediately after, the investigation begun. The insurance company came out with a whole team of people including the Chicago Fire Department Arson team, Illinois Fire Marshall and an independent fire adjuster. I was very honest and transparent with them during the investigation and was dying to know how this tragedy happened. Ready for the cause of the fire?!? LIGHTNING!!!! Can you believe that?! Lightning hit the exhaust cover on the roof, blew it to shreds and then flames shortly after. There is no evidence of fire starting inside of the restaurant, absolving myself and my employees of any wrong doing.
As it stands now, I am currently negotiating with insurance. The fire caused extensive damage and the entire restaurant is inhabitable. It's been a long and exhausting negotiation process and I don't have any other updates at this point. I promise to keep everyone updated as soon as I know more.
The memories over the years at the Palace are priceless! Lots of good ones (& bad), lots of hardships, lots of laughs and hopefully lots of good food too! The Palace customers are simply the best and I really do miss seeing each and every one of you. My employees, many of which I've employed for many years, are truly my extended family -- each and every one of them are wonderful individuals and true warriors.
I want to personally thank everyone for their generous donations to the go-fund-me. I am not the type of guy who asks for things, especially money, but please know, I greatly appreciate all the donations. The donations are going directly to my employees to help them through this difficult time. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
My wife, children and grandkids are my entire life and they all stepped up bigtime during this tragedy in my life. My son, Peter, came home the day after the fire - he was a godsend. Thank god for facetime - I've been able to video chat with my adorable granddaughter Isabel, which always puts a huge smile on my face. Rob, Christina & Charlie have spent countless hours with me since the fire, trying to cheer me up and distract me from reality. My wonderful wife, Rosalie, has been there for me throughout this entire ordeal - I wouldn't be where I am today without her. The past few months have been some of most challenging times of my life, but I am thankful for a great support team.
It is very touching that I have the greatest support team in Chicago! I've received so many texts, calls, emails, which I am eternally grateful and thankful for, but at the same time overwhelmed with. If I haven't had the chance to connect with you since the fire, I'm sorry, it hasn't been intentional. I'm humbled by the generosity and support during this difficult time in my life. I love, appreciate and miss each and every one of you.
-George
P.S. Picture is an oldie, but a goodie -- happy times at the Palace!
