Haskell's Port of Excelsior near Lake Minnetonka destroyed in overnight fire

A popular restaurant near Lake Minnetonka is a "complete and total disaster" after an overnight fire, the owner said.

Interim Excelsior Fire Chief Nate Basinger said the call came in around 1:30 a.m., and police responded to Haskell's Port of Excelsior first to find "quite a bit of fire."

No one was hurt and the fire's cause is not yet known. President and owner Ted Farrell was on-site and working with investigators overnight.

Farrell said he plans to rebuild and come back "better and stronger."

"You just can't believe that a place that we've owned and operated now for almost 40 years is gone," Farrell said. "It was shocking, just jaw-dropping, shocking."  

Farrell and his brothers bought this space from the city nearly 50 years ago. He says he's grateful no one was hurt. 

It took firefighters from five departments about 90 minutes to get the fire under control, Basinger said. While the restaurant was heavily damaged, crews prevented the fire from spreading to the liquor store housed in the same building.

Basinger said the restaurant is a big part of the community in Excelsior.

"I think it's definitely going to have an impact, for sure," Basinger said. "Like I said, it's been an institution for as long as we've been around here."

Farrell said he's already seen an outpouring of support from the community, including preliminary plans for a bingo game in the parking lot.  

One bar artifact that did survive the fire? A 52-inch northern pike that hung on the wall that was caught by Farrell's brother.

"Small miracles," Farrell said. "No one was hurt and the fish is OK, so we're alright."

For Haskell's regulars like Jennifer Hofeldt, words aren't enough. 

"This is the meeting spot. I'm probably here two times a week sometimes," Hofeldt said. "It's almost surreal though, what we're looking at. It's hard to believe."

Farrell says they're working with insurance but hope to rebuild in the same spot.