A fire broke out at La Boucherie last Wednesday, with damages expected to total $50,000 for island business owner George Page.

The fire, which started about 1 p.m. at the restaurant and butcher shop, created heavy smoke and drew a crowd of spectators. Vashon Island Fire & Rescue quickly put out the flames, and afterward, Captain Brodie Smith said the fire was smaller than it appeared and called the incident “pretty routine.”

For Page, however, it is a different story.

“It was pretty dramatic and has a huge impact on our business,” he said.

Page credited chef Michael McQuaid with keeping the fire under control with a garden hose until firefighters arrived.

“He performed admirably and saved the day and saved the building,” Page said. “Without his actions, the Boucherie building would have caught fire.”

As it was, the building only sustained minor damage.

On Monday, Page said that because the buildings that were damaged were separate from the restaurant, it was not clear if his insurance would cover the cost of all of his losses. He planned to meet with an insurance adjuster on Tuesday, adding that he hoped to get at least some money for all the food that he lost to smoke damage in the refrigerator, including cows, pigs and 25 ducks slaughtered the night before.

“Ten thousand dollars for the product. That might be adequate,” he said.

The smokehouse will need to be replaced, and the refrigerator locker will have to be repaired or replaced, he said, noting that there are also peripheral costs in a situation like this. He and his crew worked until 5 a.m. doing cleanup the night of the fire and could not attend some off-island farmers markets, cutting revenue.

“My hope is there will be some payout from insurance, but I doubt it will cover the full cost,” he added.

A friend suggested Page try to raise money to offset his losses through GoFundMe, an online fundraising tool. He signed up hastily, he said, and on Monday, after four days, only $670 had been raised from 10 donors. He hopes to focus more attention on it and on spreading the word in the coming days, he added, and bring in more donations.

“I am hopeful if I put more effort into it and through social media, it will take off,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Page said the restaurant was open over the weekend, in part by using food that had been loaded in a truck before the fire broke out and was on its way to the Columbia City Farmers Market.

Page, who also owns Seabreeze Farm, which supplies the restaurant, said they struggled to get more product and to get a storage facility, but they served a full house on Friday and Saturday nights.

“Fortunately, we are resilient and flexible and pretty resourceful at adapting to whatever crisis comes along,” he said.

While La Boucherie has been on the island for several years, 80 percent of its customers come from Seattle, Page said. He is also a vendor at  four farmers markets in and around Seattle and will likely expand to more.

“Ninety percent of our revenue comes from those markets,” he said. “We are looking toward doing even more as the farm grows and the client base expands.”

At the most recent farmers markets Page has attended, customers who had heard the news were supportive, with some contributing financially to the business’s recovery.

“It’s touching and moving and humbling,” he said.