‘Southern Charm’ Shep Rose Restaurant Fire Caused By Space Heaters, Will Reopen


Well Southern Charm‘s Shep Rose was the first to actually open a restaurant in Charleston, despite Whitney Smith’s joke that he wouldn’t open a hotdog stand with Rose, but though the restaurant was up and running, a fire has caused it to close down, temporarily, according to Rose.

According to The Inquisitr, business ventures associated with Southern Charm have been less than successful, as the planned Generalissimo, an alleged partnership of Whitney Smith, and executive producer Bryan Kestner, who Smith’s mother, Patricia Altschul believed was the brains behind Planet Hollywood (at this time, he has no affiliation with the restaurant chain) won’t be happening. A restaurant will open, but none of the Southern Charm cast or crew have any ownership, and Kestner is now involved in what will be an ugly legal battle with his former fiancee, Dawn Price, who holds several IOUs and promissory notes signed by Kestner. As with so much or reality television, the scandals behind the scenes are juicer than the ones that make the cut.

Charleston City Paper is reporting that a fire struck Southern Charm star Shep Rose’s Palace Hotel, at 35 Hanover St. in Charleston, South Carolina. The fire started in an apartment above the restaurant, and one person is in critical condition in the hospital. In typical Rose style, he reached out to thank friends and fans for their best wishes.

“Thanks for all your well wishes and concerns. Too early to tell the exact details and damage. All the best.”

The Charleston Post and Courier has discovered that the fire did start in the apartment above the business owned by Southern Charm‘s Shep Rose, and his partner, Taylor Grant. A space heater seems to be the cause, according to the Fire Marshal. Fire Department Spokesman Ryan Kunitzer.

“The resident of the rear apartment told firefighters he was awakened by shouting and saw smoke and flames coming from the front apartment. He and restaurant staff forced open a security door at the main entrance to help the other resident escape.”

Sadly, the apartments had no smoke detectors, and the resident of the apartment was hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

“After the fire, inspectors said they found several space heaters in the bedroom plugged into extension cords near combustible materials. No smoke alarms were found.”

Through Bravo, Shep Rose put out a statement for fans of Southern Charm, and his Haute Dog establishment, that attracts fans and gourmet hot dog enthusiasts from around the region.

“The fire started in an apartment above the restaurant,” he explained in an email. “With the help of our employees and a neighborhood resident, they were able to drag the gentleman out of the burning apartment. He’s now in critical condition. It was a very scary and tense situation. It’s just too early to tell about what will happen from here business-wise. We’re just hoping that the tenant upstairs is able to make it out of the hospital soon.”

TamaraTattles reported that Rose plans to reopen, bigger and better, but also passed on more behind the scenes Southern Charm legal details, involving the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton of Charleston, Thomas Ravenel and Kathryn Calhoun Dennis.

“Parents of two young children, Thomas Ravenel and Kathryn Dennis, appear to be at war again. It seems the Christmas season started off great for baby Kensie, who on only her second Christmas got her first Chanel bag! But something happened, as it usually does with these two that apparently started yet another battle of War of the Roses proportions!”

The tug of war continues, and the airing of personal dirty laundry is not becoming of a southern lady, but Tamara seems to suggest that Ravenel, a convicted felon, is a lost cause.

“According to FitsNews, the couple, who seems to always be either making beautiful babies or fighting like two tigers in one sack, had yet another huge blowout. Kathryn made the usual allegations against Thomas, he can’t see to keep his d*** in his pants. Somehow this has become a legal matter with both sides filing some sort of legal action against the other. It’s not really clear what Kathryn filed because being a man-whore is not against the law. Thomas is claiming that Kathryn took drugs during her last pregnancy according to the Fits story. This leads me to believe they are arguing over visitation.”

Hopefully, details can be worked out in private with a nice check and an exchange of cash, real estate, and prizes.

Well, luckily, one Southern Charm star has something to rebuild. Do you think Shep Rose can rebuild for the summer rush, or season three of Southern Charm?

[Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images]

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