Standing next to a fire hose puddle on the sidewalk, Mukesh Kakar looks inside the front doors of his restaurant, Raga Cuisine of India.

His lips blackened with soot, he shakes his head.

“It’s bad luck,” Kakar says of the kitchen fire that Kirkland Firefighters contained just moments before on Tuesday afternoon. This was the second time the kitchen has caught on fire since Kakar bought Raga in 2003.

Kirkland Firefighters responded to the call around noon on Tuesday at Raga, located at 212 Central Way. Kirkland Police blocked off Central Way, from Sixth Street to Lake Street for several hours.

Kakar said he opened the restaurant at 11:30 a.m. and was serving two patrons lunch when he went back to the kitchen to get something. He noticed a burning smell coming from the freezer area.

He turned off the circuit breaker, returned to the kitchen and saw flames coming from the freezer area. He threw salt on the flames to try and contain the fire.

“I went back and turned the lights on and I saw more smoke and I tried to put it out, but we couldn’t control it,” said Kakar, who was in the kitchen with an employee.

Kakar called 911 and opened up some windows before getting the two patrons and his employee outside.

Jeff Prechel, a Kirkland Fire investigator, said the cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no injuries and damages have yet to be determined.

Kakar believes the cause of the fire is electrical.

Raga also had an electrical kitchen fire in 2004, which was a big loss for him, he said. He ended up paying for reconstruction out of pocket after his insurance denied coverage of the damages.

Kakar and his wife, Sonia, also own two Quizno’s franchises in Juanita Village.