Fire at Porter Exchange in Cambridge Temporarily Shutters Several Restaurants

A fire within Cambridge’s Porter Exchange building (1815 Massachusetts Ave.) put a handful restaurants out of commission Wednesday, May 2. The fire started in the kitchen at Chocho’s, a Korean restaurant, and though the blaze was extinguished within an hour, according to Cambridge Day, the building sustained enough damage to keep restaurants closed into Thursday — Chocho’s is part of a food court that includes a number of different Japanese and Korean dining options. Parts of Lesley University, which has classrooms in the building, were also impacted. No injuries were reported.

Bourbon Coffee, also located in the building, shared on its Facebook page that it would be closed Thursday but would announce updates about reopening. Yume Ga Arukara also posted about the closure around 11 a.m. Wednesday and later shared: “We’ll be checking in and will update with our reopening as soon as we know.”

The fire within Chocho’s possibly involved a refrigeration unit, Cambridge Day reported. The restaurant serves a range of Korean dishes, including noodle soups, fried rice, and soondubu, among other items. Stay tuned for details on the reopening of the Porter Exchange restaurants.

• Brief Korean Food Shortage After Small Fires [CD]