Features

Berkeley firefighters summoned to 1275 San Pablo Ave. early Monday morning found a laundry room ablaze behind the recently opened Meal Ticket restaurant. 

The fire began in a rear stairwell and spread to the laundry room of the owner’s living quarters above the restaurant. The blaze was extinguished before it could damage the eatery, said Deputy Fire Chief David Orth. 

Damage to the structure was estimated at $30,000, with $2,000 more attributable to the loss of laundry room equipment. 

Investigators are looking into the cause of the fire, which is listed as a “suspicious circumstances” event. 

—Richard Brenneman