The newly opened Somerset restaurant in downtown Santa Barbara suffered light damage early Monday morning after a fire broke out in the kitchen.
Food that was left in a pot on a stove caught fire, and the blaze was contained to the stove after the sprinkler system went off, said Santa Barbara City Fire Department engineer Kevin Corbett.
The fire department received an alarm from the 7 E. Anapamu St. restaurant around 5:40 a.m., he said, and found light smoke inside and some flooding due to the sprinklers.
Corbett added that no one was at the restaurant at the time, and estimated the total damage was at $10,000.
After a restaurant fire, he said, the Public Health Department must inspect the facility before it can open again to the public.
The Santa Barbara City Fire Department deemed the fire an accident.
Somerset, developed by Steve Hermann Hotels and Restaurants, opened last month across the street from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.