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The Cubellis family owns lots of properties in Buzzards Bay and Wareham. They own the building--or what's left of it--the land, Leo's breakfast place next door, and the office building next to that, plus some duplex rental units behind Leo's. I think they may even own the Xtra Mart and the land it's on. The Mezza Luna has been paid for several times over, and the bar alone keeps the bills paid and the lights on over the winter. They do a good business from Wednesday right through Sunday, even in February.
This is the second major restaurant fire. Quintals wasn't a major fire and the business was closed before the fire was set. Penners was the other biggie and it was an entirely different situation. The owner got caught screwing around on his wife and she was about to take him to the cleaners in a divorce. That fire was started at about 2:30 in the morning. The building was fully involved when the fire dept arrived and the hydrant in front of the building had been disabled. The fire marshall who investigated took one good whiff, smelled an accellerant and declared "arson" before sunrise.
This is way different. You have a family owned business that's been passed down thru the generations for over 70 years, making a profit, for owners that really don't need to be in the restaurant business to start with to make a buck. They kept it going as a family tradition and out of loyalty to their customers over the years. I'm betting they rebuild before Memorial Day 2008.
It might turn out to be a torch job, but I don't think it will be found to be one. All I'm saying is don't trash the name of a respected local family until there's an investigation and the fire is declared suspicious.
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