On November 28th, 2001 at approximately 2130 hrs. the Police received a call of a large amount of smoke coming from the roof of the building at 863 El Camino real. Police arrived less than a minute later and found that there were flames and smoke coming from the roof of that building. Several employees of the "Pasta Market" restaurant were at work inside and evacuated from the building. The Menlo Park Fire Department arrived and immediately called for a second alarm response.

The fire was placed under control within fifteen minutes. The southbound lanes of El Camino Real were closed and traffic was diverted for about one hour. Several businesses in the building suffered extensive smoke damage. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. No citizens or fire personnel were injured.