By Joe Johnson
A fire in downtown Athens Thursday morning shut down the westbound lanes of East Broad Street. from Lumpkin Street to Jackson Street due to a fire at the rear of a restaurant.
”There was a fire behind the grill at The Place restaurant, 229 East Broad Street, said Nate Moss a battalion chief with the Athens-Clarke County Fire and Emergency Services Department,
”The fire was contained to the area of the grill and vent hood system,” he said. “We had crews check out the roof to assure there was no extension.”
Traffic in the area was restored to normal at about 11:15 a.m.