Fire Ravages Iconic Thunder Bay Temple of Finnish Labor | The Canadian News

A fire tore through an iconic Thunder Bay building on Wednesday.

The Finnish Labor Temple, which is also home to the famous Hoito restaurant, caught fire at night. The building was being renovated.

The fire appeared to start in the upper section of the building, according to TBNewswatch.com. El Hoito is in the basement of the building.

The building has been under a different type of fire in recent years – the restaurant was forced to close during the pandemic and the building was sold to developers last year as the owner, the Finland Association, was deeply in debt. The board voted to dissolve and sell the building.

El Hoito planned to reopen next year.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the fire, which was still burning Thursday morning. Global News has reached out to the Thunder Bay Fire Department for comment.