Santa Clarita vows to rebuild Old Town Newhall after destructive fire

The Santa Clarita City Council pledged to quickly rebuild Old Town Newhall after a fire destroyed seven businesses on Monday. 

"We're Santa Clarita. We're not going to take five years to rebuild," Councilman Bill Miranda said.

The promise excited Ralph Gonzalez and Christine Munoz, who own the city's first gastropub, Newhall Refinery. 

"It's almost like a little rose that grew up from the concrete where we're taking the best of a really bad situation," Gonzalez said. 

The owners raised money online to help rebuild and pay their staff of more than 20 people.

"We would love to be able to figure out where we can go next, stay on the block, bring our staff home," Munoz said. "That would be the best-case scenario."

Gonzalez and Munoz said the community support in the wake of the fire has been a blessing.

"That gives us the strength to do it again," Gonzalez said. 

The city also lost its landmark theater, The Main, in the fire. City spokesperson Carrie Lujan said the 80-seat theater provided an intimate experience that performers and patrons alike cherished over the past 30 years. 

"To give you an idea of how popular The Main was, it was booked all the way through 2027," Lujan said. "So many local arts companies and musicians and comics really come to that place to do their craft and share it with the community."

The city said the fire department tried to save the theater, but the flames quickly spread through the shared attic space in the 100-year-old facade. They're now helping the acts who were booked here.