Chef-owner David Nayfeld said in a social media video Friday morning that Divisadero hot spot Che Fico, which had a fire in a chimney flue Thursday, suffered some damage and will have to close for an indeterminate period of time.

SFist had the news Thursday afternoon of a fire at Che Fico, which began around 3:30 pm which an SFFD source said had originated in the kitchen's flue, and which reportedly led to significant damage on the rear of the building. The interior of the restaurant was, reportedly, not damaged, and no one was injured.

But what damage occurred was apparently significant enough to force the closure of Che Fico while building repairs take place. (The Chronicle reports via SFFD Lieutenant Mariano Elias that the fire began in the chimney of the restaurant next door, Foghorn Taproom, aka the former Little Star, however an Instagram post from Foghorn Taproom appears to contradict this, and Foghorn was able to reopen for business Thursday night.)

Firefighters reportedly had to damage the rear side of the buildings to extinguish the flames.

Nayfeld, who is in New York today for an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, confirmed in an Instagram reel, "We're going to have to close for a certain amount of time."

He added, "First and foremost I want to say thank you very much to our team. They followed all of our evacuation drills that we had been practicing, perfectly. They did a fantastic job, the leadership did a fantastic job."

Nayfeld also said it meant "so much in the moment" that, as the fire was happening, he heard directly from Mayor Daniel Lurie and Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, among others, who pledged their support in helping the restaurant recover.

Che Fico debuted at 838 Divisadero in the NoPa neighborhood in March 2018 and quickly became one of the toughest reservations to get in town. Nayfeld gained some notoriety in the early days of the pandemic as he raised funds from some of his tech-wealthy investors to make to-go meals for people in need in the city, in addition to family-style takeout packages for regular customers, while the restaurant remained closed.

The Che Fico empire has since grown to include a second Che Fico in Menlo Park, Che Fico Pizzeria at the Chase Center, and the more Tuscan-influenced fine dining restaurant Via Aurelia, which opened last fall in Mission Bay. And last month the team opened a new, nostalgia-fueled cocktail bar downstairs from Che Fico Pizzeria called Golden Rule.

Another popular Italian restaurant in SF, Original Joe's, also suffered a kitchen fire three weeks ago, but they were able to reopen quickly.

Previously: One-Alarm Fire Breaks Out In Flue Connected to Che Fico Kitchen