Terrorist Attack In Burlingame!

by Jessica Sweeney

Southwest: Added on November 19, 2006

In May 2001, my husband and I moved from our cramped apartment on Vista Avenue, near NW 23rd, to the family-friendly Burlingame neighborhood in SW Portland. Although we were sad to say goodbye to the happening-hipster feel of our old downtown 'hood, we were ready to start a family and move on to the next stage in our lives. We bought a station wagon, loaded up a moving van and headed for Burlingame.

The Burlingame Grocery store was located a few blocks from our new home. My spouse and I, who worked together at the time, would frequently stop there for caffeinated beverages and snacks on our way to work. On the morning of September 11th, we stopped by the BG for our usual breakfast supplies. The owner of the store, Thomas Calkins, assisted us at the check-out counter that morning. As we fished for change in our pockets, Calkins, a kindly, white-haired gentleman who was always unfailingly friendly, informed us of the plane that had hit the World Trade Center. I thought he was joking. No, he insisted, his story was real. I turned on the radio when we got back in the car and listened closely to the news for the rest of our morning commute.

New York City has always been near and dear to my heart. I spent summers there growing up and knew the subway system, the neighborhoods and landmarks like the back of my hand. Like millions of other Americans that day, I was shocked and horrified by the terrorist attacks on the Big Apple.

About a week after the terrorist attacks, my husband and I woke up in the middle of the night to hear sirens blaring close by, in our neighborhood. We tumbled out of bed, opened the back door and ran out into the night. Nearby, we could see a faint red-orange glow in the night sky. My first thought was, "the terrorists have attacked Burlingame!"

Now, of course, my initial reaction seems incredibly silly. But, at the time, with the September 11th attacks so fresh in my mind, I was convinced there was danger in my own back yard.

After listening to the sirens and watching the reddish haze increase, my husband and I decided to get dressed and investigate the source of the mayhem. We headed down the street, toward the sound of the emergency vehicles, and found that the Burlingame Grocery and the Chez Jose restaurant adjacent to it were burning to the ground. There were multiple fire trucks and ambulances, and we quickly realized the fire was way too out of control to save either the grocery store or the restaurant. The fire personnel on the scene assured us no one had been injured, a great relief considering the many lives that had been lost the previous week, on September 11th.

My husband and I walked home, heads hanging in wistful remembrance of the Burlingame Grocery's fantastic beer and wine collection, considered one of the finest in the Pacific Northwest, now completely up in smoke. Gone forever.

Eventually, we learned that the kindly gentleman who had first broken the news to us about the terrorist attacks, Burlingame Grocery store owner Thomas Calkins, was guilty of committing arson. He had apparently lit the fire that destroyed one of the neighborhood's favorite local businesses. To this day, I find it difficult to reconcile the fact that the nice white-haired older man who had always been so helpful and jovial was an admitted arsonist.

The Burlingame Grocery has since been replaced by a fantastic store, the Market of Choice, that is revered by my entire neighborhood. Chez Jose was rebuilt, updated and better than ever. They still serve a mean lime-chicken enchilada and have a decent beer selection. However, the Burlingame Grocery will always hold a special place in my heart, and I do wish it hadn't had such an untimely end.