Coral House catering hall in Baldwin damaged in early morning fire

A well-known Baldwin catering hall was damaged after a fire broke out early Wednesday, authorities said.

The Baldwin Fire Department responded to the 4 a.m. blaze in a storage area on the south side of a building at the Coral House on Milburn Avenue. Images from the scene showed firefighters overhauling the second floor of the catering hall through a broken window beneath a hole in the side of the roof.

First Assistant Chief Doug Eberhart said he was first to arrive on the scene and noticed fallen ceiling tiles and smoke coming from the roof.

Firefighters from Freeport, Long Beach and Oceanside, as well as standby units from Inwood and Lynbrook, provided mutual aid.

The fire was "basically suppressed" by the sprinkler system and the rest of the fire was put out, he said.

Owner Butch Yamali said the fire started on a rooftop patio that was distanced from the main part of the building. While two custom windows were broken and some carpeting and walls were wet, the hall should be "back to normal" on Thursday, Yamali said, thanks to the help of staff who "jumped right in, no questions asked."

A favored Nassau Republican gathering spot, the Coral House has been host to numerous GOP events over the decades. Republican Vice President Dan Quayle lunched there early in 1990.

It was sold to Yamali in 2011 by William Ferguson, the catering hall's previous owner of 35 years.

Yamali is also the owner of the Dover Group, which operates several well-known Long Island businesses including The Milleridge Inn in Jericho, Peter’s Clam Bar in Island Park, and Malibu Shore Club and Malibu Beach Camp in Lido Beach.

No events were scheduled for Wednesday at the Coral House and some staff were directed to the his Freeport office for the day, Yamali said. 

"Nobody's even losing an hour of work," he said. "Everybody's gonna be good. We all worked together."