Update Tuesday, Aug. 22: Twenty Tap reopens at 11 a.m. today.

Earlier story:

Twenty Tap is expected to reopen within the next few weeks after a February kitchen fire closed the SoBro taproom and restaurant for nearly five months.

Owner Kevin Matalucci used the opportunity to remodel the 6-year-old pub at 5406 N. College Ave. He is overseeing the finishing touches on a new paint job and a remodeled kitchen, he said.

"My hope is that it’ll return like the Bionic Man: better, faster, stronger," he said. "Two weeks is my hope, but realistically it’ll be three."

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Matalucci said the small fire was caused by "a little bit of grease on top of a broiler."

"The flames weren’t an inch tall," he said.

He said he put the initial fire out with towels, but the blaze had gone behind the kitchen hood and reached the ceiling. The pub was left with water damage after the Indianapolis Fire Department extinguished the smoldering fire with hoses.

"I used it as a reason to remodel," he said. "We got some brand-new appliances."

Insurance covered the damages and the new equipment, but Matalucci declined to say the total cost.

The fire started just before the restaurant opened at 11 a.m., so no customers were inside at the time. Matalucci is reopening with the same staff, and all have been by covered by loss-of-income insurance.

Customers won't see much of an interior difference when Twenty Tap reopens in August, except for a new 4-by-16-foot mural in the bar area painted by a staff member.

The reopening process was drawn out, he said, because of some "hiccups" with permitting during the remodeling and the insurance company double-checking numbers and getting multiple estimates before moving forward.

"Any loss of business is not good, but we’ve got a lot of good support," he said. "We've gotten several cards under the door saying 'we can’t wait for you guys to come back.' One of the tearjerkers was when some kids that always come in here made us cookies and sent us a card."

Call IndyStar reporter Amy Bartner at (317) 444-6752. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.