Very unfortunately, and not forgotten, it’s not so cozy anymore, for yes its hallowed hearth and halls being fried top to bottom by a recent fire. Can no longer bring the heat on those killer pizzas, in what had been cherished as Kozy Korner, existing for over a decade in the heart of the only business district in North Hudson.
That’s because of that overnight blaze, occurring just hours before they would have again gotten busy with making those near-locally-legendary breakfast pizzas, that killed the kitchen and any kiln, and virtually gutted the place.
Video footage, as coverage even reached the Twin Cities news outlets, showed what took place not long after bar time, smoke billowing westward from that center of the building and charring the steak in the now unchilled fridge and freezer, but the seating area on the south side also was toast — sorry for that — and the laundromat on the north end also was washed away.
But for me personally, I had been waiting for the unveiling of some of that steak, as part of a killer new menu that had been promised for more than a year, when the concept was first introduced by the new owners, and since then has been just tweaked — baby steps away from the past, and big shoes and stomachs to fill, so get it right.
— So if you still crave pizza, your next available option in North Hudson might be another K, as in Kwik Trip, where they sport the timely pitch that beware of what’s in the road ahead, they have their pothole brand pizza. Spring friendly. —
Of course, there are perhaps dozens of formerly Kozy employees who have lost employment due to the fire, and the fundraisers for them have followed, and will follow. One of them, a Belle of a woman named Bel, who I caught up with at Dick’s Bar, and Grill of course, in downtown Hudson, not North Hudson, took it in stride, but with a slight pang in her voice. This was a thing passing in life, which will go on.
The fundraiser of which I am aware was at The Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt, and was a spaghetti dinner, forego the pizza, although they have that too via a big Carbone’s attached to the north end.
One of the three people listed for raffle donations is a principle at Broz down in River Falls. So I stopped in, and talked to the bartender, who knew of the tragedy but not the sources for fundraisers.
This has not been the only prominent restaurant fire in this relatively small village. Decades ago, in the heart of the village as a whole, a venue that topped all others in North Hudson, was as Italian as it gets. And that may be important. For its long been rumored both here and farther away that the mob was behind the blaze. And you know, like Dio who is also Italian prominently sung, The Mob Rules. Other restaurant versions rose from the ashes.
But would it be so for this New Richmond property? A house that also burned to the ground, many months ago. In a lot two doors down, is another property that like this one is up for sale, offered by the Realtor family that goes by The Moes. In an ode to the Simpsons, so in this case I must be glib, they could also market the other lot, and be known as The Flamin’ Moes, after Homer’s favorite barkeep. Did he too work at Kozy Korner? They had a bar too.