Update: 12/23/09

According to some local reports, it looks like arson is to blame for the early morning fire at Valbella restaurant in the Riverside section Greenwich.

“There are some things that are developing as we speak that will shed some light onto exactly what happened,” Lt. Mark Marion told the Greenwich Time. “There is something about this fire that is suspicious.” 

Deputy Fire Marshall James McDonald is not as eager as Marino, who oversees the police department’s arson unit, to say arson was the cause.

McDonald told the newspaper he is refraining from making judgment until his investigation is over.

Original story

Greenwich, Connecticut fire department is investigating what caused the fire at Valbella restaurant early Sunday morning.

Around 4:00 a.m. on Sunday a plow truck driver called 911 to report the fire at the famous restaurant, which is believed to have started in a 10×10 storage shed then spread to the main part of the building destroying the kitchen and offices in the attic.

For the last 19 years the Italian eatery, which is located in the Old Greenwich section of town, has been a regular for the rich and famous from both Connecticut and New York.