Customers were eating when fire broke out at a popular restaurant in Columbia

A popular restaurant near the University of South Carolina campus was on fire Saturday night.

California Dreaming, at 401 South Main Street with Green’s Beverages, near Assembly Street, was the scene of a fire, according to Columbia Fire Department.

Members of the fire department responded to the restaurant just before 9:30 p.m., and quickly called for more help in the form of a 2nd Alarm after flames were seen shooting through a rear section of the roof and the building’s third floor, the fire department said.

Both customers and employees were inside the restaurant when the fire started, according to the fire department. Everyone evacuated safely and there were no injuries, including the emergency responders, the fire department said.

Firefighters established a water supply before they entered the burning building and traced the fire to the ventilation system of the restaurant, according to the fire department.

At 10:22 p.m., the fire department said the blaze had been brought under control, and by 11:11 p.m. officials confirmed the fire had been extinguished.

Information about what caused the fire in the restaurant’s ventilation system was not available, and officials did not say if the blaze remains under investigation.

There was no word on the extent of the damage to the restaurant caused by the flames, smoke and water the firefighters used to quickly contain and limit the blaze.

Prior to the fire, California Dreaming was scheduled to open at 11 a.m. Sunday, according to the its website. Calls to learn about the restaurant’s status were unanswered, but at about 10:30 a.m., restaurant officials used a Facebook post to announce they’d be open as scheduled.

“Greetings from California Dreaming. We’re open today, Sunday, 5/25— and feeling extra grateful.”

There was a similar fire at the restaurant in June 2018, and it was soon again open for business after that incident caused minor damage.

California Dreaming is part of a restaurant chain. The chain operates six locations overall, with four in South Carolina and single restaurants in Georgia and Alabama, according to its website.

This story was originally published May 25, 2025 at 9:06 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription