BY MEG HASKELL

OF THE NEWS STAFF

BANGOR, Maine — A kitchen fire damaged the Central Street Cafe downtown on Thanksgiving morning.

Shortly after 8 a.m., firefighters were returning to Central Station on Main Street after answering a call when they noticed the windows of the popular cafe were “all black,” said Lt. Randy Lowe of the Bangor Fire Department.

Menus and other papers taped to the inside of the glass also looked sooty, he said, and when firefighters felt the glass of the window, it was hot.

“We knew we had something going on,” Lowe said.

The Central Street Cafe and most other downtown businesses were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. When firefighters broke the glass door of the restaurant, they found a fire burning in the kitchen near the range.

It didn’t take long to extinguish the blaze, Lowe said. Smoke had not only filled the cafe but also permeated some other areas of the multistory structure, requiring firefighters to ventilate other offices and small businesses in those areas using fans.

Lowe said it was fortunate the fire was discovered before it got out of control.

“We were lucky; downtown was dead this morning,” he said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The building is owned by Paul Cook, who owns several other properties in Bangor.