RIVERSIDE, Ill. â A grease fire caused thick, black smoke to fill the air outside of the North Riverside Mall in the western suburbs on Thursday, forcing the closure of the mall's food court for several hours.The fire happened around 11:15 on Thursday morning.No one was hurt but the fire burned a charred area visible on the outside of the mall. The smoke was so thick, it led people at and near the mall to believe the fire was much worse than it was.
North Riverside Mayor Joseph Mengoni said the fire also spread to a neighboring restaurant.'You never want to see that in your town, but yes, there was a lot of smoke damage,' Mengoni said.He added that everyone was evacuated from the entire mall area. Only a single food court eatery was impacted.Crews continued working Thursday to clean up the food court.