Interview: WWE star speaks out after fire destroys father’s Cleveland restaurant

CLEVELAND (WJW) – Many questions still remain after a devastating fire destroyed a WWE pro wrestling star’s family restaurant over the weekend.

It took a team of nearly 70 local firefighters to battle the flames on West 25th Street in Cleveland Sunday night.

Several storefronts were left beyond repair, including Gargano’s Restaurant and Catering, which is owned by WWE star Johnny Gargano’s father.

FOX 8 spoke with the pro wrestler, who says the restaurant has been his dad’s life’s work for nearly 50 years. Naturally, the loss of the building has been a lot to process.

“Things can be replaced, buildings can be replaced. Obviously the building was a special place in my heart, in my dad’s heart, but I just want him to be OK and he is doing OK. For me, it’s just what the future holds and what that looks like for him because it’s all he’s known for the past 50 years,” he said.

Along with an outpouring of support from the community, Johnny told FOX 8 he’s received a number of questions.

“A lot of people are bringing up like, ‘is he going to rebuild it? Is he going to do things like that?’ He’s 82, so I don’t think rebuilding is going to be in the works, in the cards for him,” he said.

Johnny first spoke out about the fire on X, formerly known as Twitter on Monday, saying, “I basically grew up there and now it’s just gone. It is extremely heartbreaking for my family.”

The fire, which led to more than $700,000 in damages, remains under investigation at this time. For now, Johnny says his main focus is being there for his father during this difficult time.

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