BLAIR, Wis. – Jeremy Tranberg remembers the moment Friday morning that fire eruted and went out of control and destroyed his Blair Haus cafe and bar. He had finished cleaning of the deep fryers and was just preparing to unlock the front door for customers. he said in an interview for television station WXOW. “I heard a little bang and I just assumed somebody walked into the bar.” He looked up at a security monitor and saw flames in the kitchen. Tranbrrg attempted to put out the fire. It was too late. He grabbed his cell phone and ran. Investigators have been in town to determine the cause. For sure, the Blair Haus, a downtown gather spot, is gone. It was in a structure going back 120 years. Once it was a movie house, then a car dealership. Tranberg and his wife had been in business 10 years. “There were a lot of memories created in that building,” he said. “The atmosphere was great. The inside looked good. People would come in. It was always clean, a little bit of fun for everybody.” He remembers the decor: “Losing my moose head that my grandpa shot 60 years ago is a tough one.” Will the Tranbergs rebuild? It’s an option, he said.
Earlier: Mid-morning fire levels Blair Haus
Cozy, homey. The moose head fit right in.
Blair: population 1,300. Far up the Trempealeau River in rich dairy land, almost in Jackson County.