The Concord Cafeteria was located at 1921 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. It was founded in 1947 by Morris Himelstein, who also owned and operated 6 Concord Cafeterias in New York City.
On the night of 2nd February, 1973, a man walked into the cafeteria which was crowded with diners, poured gasoline out of a jar, ignited it with a match, and ran out of the restaurant. Intense flames spread very rapidly. People attempted to escape but were obstructed by the turnstiles used to control access to the restaurant. A witness who was a worker at an adjoining restaurant said that he had "rushed out into the street and scores of old people were lying on the sidewalks and in the road moaning and screaming in lots of pain." Another witness said that he saw the interior of the restaurant in flames and "all the glass was broken and the front was gone." Victims were taken to 4 different hospitals suffering from burns and smoke inhalation, and 14 people were in critical condition 2 days later. 3 people died.
22 minutes after the fire began, 49 year old Charles Reardon of Lal Harbour, Florida walked into a police station, and said, "I've done something terrible. I've made a lot of people scream." After being questioned for 12 hours, Charles was charged with arson and use of a destructive device. He was never prosecuted because he was found incompetent to be tried due to mental illness.
After several months of renovations, the Concord Cafeteria reopened. It was the last cafeteria in Miami Beach when it closed 10 years later, in June, 1983.
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