Eight months after a four-alarm fire tore through Santiago’s Beer Garden, the East Harlem favorite is pouring drinks again. The reopening caps a bruising stretch for a neighborhood hangout that lost its dining room, its income and most of its holiday season in a single night.
CBS News New York reported that community members stepped up to help bring the restaurant back, while owner Matthew Fermin and his team spent months navigating cleanup, construction and paperwork. The restaurant’s Santiago’s Beer Garden site is once again promoting reservations, catering and online ordering.
Four-Alarm Fire Hit Santiago’s And Nearby Apartments
The fire broke out on November 19, 2025, at Santiago’s East Harlem location near First Avenue and East 120th Street. About 170 firefighters responded as flames spread from the rear of the building into the apartments above, according to FOX 5 New York.
The blaze displaced nearby residents and damaged neighboring businesses, while one person was treated at the scene and declined further medical attention. ABC7 New York reported that the Red Cross assisted 15 people and that the fire also threatened Santiago’s annual Thanksgiving food donations to local schools and community centers.
Fundraiser Helped Keep The Restaurant’s Workers Afloat
In the aftermath, Fermin organized a fundraiser for the restaurant’s roughly 30 employees, many of whom suddenly found themselves out of work right before the holidays. The GoFundMe said donations were meant to cover payroll and help the business survive the shutdown and rebuilding period.
staff fundraiser and building damage coverage highlighted the uncertainty swirling around Santiago’s future in the weeks after the fire. Now, the restaurant’s return restores a familiar gathering place to East Harlem and offers its workers a path back to the jobs that vanished in the smoke.
The restaurant’s website now lists regular service hours and encourages customers to book tables, a sign that the operation has shifted from emergency survival mode back to everyday business. For a place that has spent most of the past year fighting to get back on its feet, that simple act of making a reservation carries a lot of weight.
