‘A Total Loss’: Fire Guts Landmark Glenrock Restaurant Fort Diablo

A Glenrock institution known for its steaks, prime rib and stained-glass murals of local landmarks is a total loss after a Sunday morning fire.

Fort Diablo, known to locals simply as “The Fort,” has been the go-to place for date nights, family dinners, celebrations, and lunches featuring killer French dip and Reuben sandwiches since the 1950s, said owner Kevin Tate.

“It’s kind of a mainstay in Glenrock. It’s been there forever,” said Tate, who bought the restaurant and bar about three years ago after operating the Shoreliner bar for more than 30 years.

He had retired, but when The Fort came up for sale, Tate said he wanted to try his hand at running a restaurant.

Now, he said he’s still a little shell-shocked after watching his business — and a piece of Glenrock history — burn.

“I don’t know how I felt,” he said about looking on as firefighters worked to knock down the blaze. “I just couldn’t believe it was going on. It was like, ‘Wow.’

“And then there’s all that money I just put into it, and I just bought a whole bunch of food for the Easter buffet — almost $6,000 of food is gone.”

He doesn’t know exactly when The Fort first opened, but it’s been 70 years or more, Tate said. 

“It’s been a really nice steakhouse for quite a while,” he said. “Frank’s Butcher Shop owned it for a while, and I bought it from Frank.”

Tate said he hasn’t decided yet whether he’ll try to rebuild The Fort or not. Right now, he’s focused on immediate tasks like shutting off utilities and contacting vendors.

“Everybody is really upset and sad, I mean just sad,” he said about the reaction from people who’ve grown up going to The Fort. “There are a lot of memories in that building, a lot of events were held there.”

Tate also said he’s had thoughts racing through his head about how random and unfair the situation seems.

“What’d I do to deserve this?” he said he’s asked himself. “I try to be the best I can, then this happens. I really try to be as good a person as I can and help as many as I can. I pay people well.

“This just sucks.”

‘I Just Can’t Believe It’

The fire began during the Sunday morning breakfast service, Tate said.

Everyone rushed out of the restaurant and called the Glenrock Volunteer Fire Department, which responded in force, said Chief Shon Lindsey.

“About the whole department was out here, 20-some people,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Monday morning from the scene. “I’ve been here since about it started until now.”

While the building didn’t burn to the ground, “It’s a total loss,” Lindsey said. “There’s a lot of stuff left, but there’s also a lot of fire damage from the smoke and the heat.”

A cause of the fire hasn’t been officially determined, the chief said, adding that the state fire marshal from Cheyenne is investigating the incident.

Tate also said the restaurant looked like a total loss, and he has his own theory as to what happened.

“My opinion is a ballast from a neon sign went bad, that’s what I saw,” he said. “I feel sorry for my workers, now they have to go find other jobs.

“I just don’t know what to do, really. I’m just astonished,” Tate added. “It’s beyond belief. I just can’t believe it.”

‘I Never Got A Bad Meal’

Earlene Archer said she also can’t believe The Fort is gone.

The Douglas resident is nearly 70 now but said the restaurant — which she first knew as the El Diablo — was her family’s go-to spot for decades.

“Back when I was a kid, we went there all the time,” Archer told Cowboy State Daily. “That was part of my childhood. When we moved to Glenrock from Douglas in 1962, it was there. It’s kind of just always been there.”

If there was something to celebrate, The Fort was the place to go, she said, adding that several of her high school classmates had their wedding receptions there in the 1970s.

“I went there for my 16^th birthday, and I can still remember it,” Archer said. “It was a special day and I had shrimp. I’m now almost 70 and still remember that.”

Anthony Rivera hasn’t been around Glenrock quite as long as Archer’s family, but the Glenrock Volunteer Fire Department lieutenant said The Fort was a favorite place for lunch and dinner.

“The sandwiches are great, steaks are great,” he said. “We were just having a discussion this morning about how good the steaks are.”

Rivera said he was particularly impressed with some of Tate’s off-menu specials, like the Reuben sandwich. What made it so good was The Fort made its own corned beef.

“I was in there three or four weeks ago for lunch and had a Reuben sandwich, and it was really great,” he said.

The fire is “very unfortunate,” Rivera added. “Even though Kevin had it for sale, he kept it open. Kevin is very well-liked by the community. It’s a bit of a staple in town.

“Lots of people are wondering what comes next or if they’ll eventually rebuild. Everyone’s sad to see it be lost.”

A GoFundMe campaign has been started to help Tate “and potentially restoring Fort Diablo.”

For folks like Archer, the Fort Diablo fire hits on a personal level.

“I always used to have the prime rib, and it was always good. I never got a bad meal,” she said. “I also always felt welcome, kind of like home — just a cozy home feel you had when you went in there.”

Now she said she’s been sad since learning of the fire Sunday. 

“It’s just always been there. I took my granddaughter to supper at the El Diablo for, I believe, her 13^th birthday,” she said. “She likes steak, and I said, ‘I know where we can get a great steak.’

“Now it’s like a piece of my childhood is gone.”

Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.