Lina Esqueda was diagnosed with lymphoma right before her Green Chile Cantina opened in Mission Viejo in August. Then, early on Sunday, Jan. 21, she was dealt another blow: A destructive fire broke out at the restaurant.
Shortly before 7 a.m., firefighters responded to reports of smoke from the roof of the building, where they encountered heavier smoke inside. The fire, knocked down in about 25 minutes, caused an estimated $400,000 in damage, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Greg Barta said.
FF’s responded to an unoccupied restaurant in the 23600 block of Via Linda in @MissionViejoCA at 6:49 a.m. for reports of smoke from the roof, encountered heavy smoke inside the restaurant, called a 2nd alarm to add additional resources, and knocked down the fire in 25 minutes. pic.twitter.com/QaERraGOgb
— OCFA PIO (@OCFireAuthority) January 21, 2024
Esqueda was expecting a busy day at the eatery — which had been getting popular – when she and her husband Tony were woken up by a phone call from their cook, Jose Orozco.
“The restaurant is burning, the restaurant is burning!’, he told them in Spanish over the speakerphone.
The extent of the fire was “huge,” Esqueda said. The kitchen and prep kitchen were completely burned out, the ceiling in the pizza kitchen collapsed, there were six holes in the roof and the rest of the ceiling was collapsing, she said. There was also water damage from a broken pipe in the kitchen, which leaked into the dining area.
“Everything is messed up and destroyed, it’s all going to have to be rebuilt,” Esqueda said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation Sunday.
“I’m going through all these emotions,” Esqueda said. “I just can’t believe it. I’m so freaking shocked.”‘
Esqueda has received an outpouring of community support, including from the Mission Viejo Chamber of Commerce, which she said offered to start a GoFundMe page for Green Chile. On Sunday afternoon, a link had not yet been set up.
“God has a plan for everything and we just have to trust and continue to trust that everything that’s happening is for a reason and a bigger plan,” Esqueda said.
After she was diagnosed with stage three follicular helper T-cell lymphoma, her illness and weakened immune system meant she couldn’t be around groups of people inside her own restaurant, even though she’d love to “be the face of my business — meeting, greeting and being a part of our first days,” she previously told a reporter,
A fundraiser to help cover her cancer treatment was in the planning stages even before this latest setback. The event is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Green Chile Cantina, at 23641 Via Linda in Mission Viejo.
It will be held in the parking lot.
