Atlanta Restaurants: A Fire at Cheshire Bridge Road Restaurant Las Margaritas Ruled Arson | Eater Atlanta

"A longtime staple on Cheshire Bridge Road for over 20 years, I remember Las Margaritas — owned by Oscar Valdivieso and his mother Marta — as a restaurant and bar serving a range of Mexican to Colombian dishes and a longtime advocate and supporter of Atlanta’s LGBTQ community, employing many people from that community and regularly hosting and sponsoring events, groups, and sports leagues. On Monday, August 9, I read that a blaze initially reported as a grass fire was later believed to be arson after firefighters arrived to find flames shooting through the roof and on the patio; they managed to quickly knock the fire out but the building sustained substantial damage, and because the restaurant was typically closed on Mondays no one was injured. Investigators released surveillance images of a “person of interest” seen near the entrance shortly before the fire and say this person “may have set” the blaze; they are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and ask anyone with tips to call the Georgia Arson Control hotline at 1-800-282-5804. The fire came nearly a week after a gas line fire under a nearby bridge over Peachtree Creek, and this portion of Cheshire Bridge Road could remain closed for more than a year while the bridge is torn down and rebuilt." - Beth McKibben