Original Joe's really needs to beef up its fire insurance and clean its kitchen flues. The flagship location in North Beach, which moved there after its original location burned down, suffered a small fire on Wednesday night — the owners' third fire in 20 years.San Francisco firefighters were call ed to the scene at Union and Stockton streets just after 8 pm Wednesday after heavy smoke was seen rising from the roof of Original Joe's.As the SFFD reported, the fire was in a chimney or exhaust flue, coming out of the kitchen, and it was contained as of 8:19 pm. Part of Union Street and a section of Stockton Street were both temporarily closed for the firefight and cleanup, and the restaurant and a neighboring building were both evacuated during this process.As KTVU reports, it remained unclear Wednesday night whether the restaurant suffered any serious damage. Original Joe's has not posted any update to its social media.No injuries were reported and the SFFD said the building was turned back over to the owners Wednesday night.This flagship Original Joe's opened in this space (formerly Joe DiMaggio's and, even earlier, Fior d'Italia) in 2012. The restaurant relocated and reopened here after an October 2007 fire shut down the original location on Taylor Street in the Tenderloin. Third-generation owners John and Elena Duggan, who are brother and sister, have since expanded the business to include Little Original Joe's locations in West Portal and the Marina, as well as the revamped Daly City Original Joe's, and in 2024 they opened Elena's, a Mexican-American restaurant in West Portal.A third Original Joe's location that opened last August in Walnut Creek also suffered a kitchen fire that shut it down just days after its grand opening. That location reopened in October. We'll update this story once there is word about whether the North Beach restaurant will be open as usual tonight.Update: units on scene will be clearing shortly. there are no injuries and displacements as if 911pm. Building will be turned over to the owners. pic.twitter.com/clUuC4pqfK— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) May 21, 2026 ...read more read less