Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The people of the Allentown community in Buffalo continue to process the loss of another cultural icon in the neighborhood, nearly seven months after a fire destroyed the The Old Pink.
In the early morning hours on Sunday, a fire broke out at Mulligan's Brick Bar, which sat right next door to The Old Pink on Allen Street, destroying a vast majority of the building that dates back to 1897. While the fire remains under investigation, damages to the building and the contents inside the building are estimated to be nearly $2.1 million.
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Residents in Allentown remain at a loss for words in the hours after the latest fire that has devastated the cultural fabric of the community.
"Mulligan's has been around since I've moved to Buffalo, probably eight or nine years ago, and it's kind of like a Buffalo institution," said resident Phillip Wright. "This, following the Pink, is sort of detrimental to the neighborhood. I know a lot of people have had a lot of memories between here and the Pink, and it's kind of heartbreaking for the community that these two long-time standing Buffalo 'go-tos' are suffering from this. It's sad to see."
While Wright is certainly happy that no one was hurt in the Brick Bar fire, he remains shocked and scared for the other local businesses in Allentown.
"Holley Farms, I'm grateful, is still here, Nietzsche's, luckily, is alive and thriving. But obviously business owners in the area would be concerned about what's going on so," Wright said. "It's just such deep, deep hits to what was the fabric of Allentown."
If there's one thing Wright knows in his time having lived in Buffalo, though, is people of the community will find a way to bounce back, and support one another during these troubling times.
"I was over at a memorial at Nietzsche's that popped up just after everything was said and done. It just goes to show how quickly the neighborhood responds to everything that's going on," he said. "I think Buffalo, as we know, we go through it. We have a blizzard, and then the next day, the sun's out, and everyone comes out that day. I think everyone's going to be here and supportive, and in full force of trying to make right the unfortunate events that have occurred."
Local businesses surrounding Mulligan's Brick Bar are also feeling the effect of the fire that devastated the building, and its immediate aftereffects.
"We've been closed. We had to close down yesterday. Today, we're closed on Mondays, so today is not super effectful. But I do hope that we can clear these streets up and get some traffic back going, especially because the parking here in Allentown is a nightmare as it is," said Yamilex Sanchez, owner of El Coquito at the corner of Allen and College Street. "If people see all of this going on, it's just going to prevent them from coming here any further. So I do hope that we can clear this up quickly, and that we can get things back going."
Sanchez feels the same amount of heartbreak for the residents of Allentown for the loss of the Brick Bar, just months after the community was shook by the loss of The Old Pink.
"It was really, really surprising. It's really sad. It's just been really overwhelming for the community, the businesses and all," Sanchez said. "The Brick Bar was actually one of our really big supporters here, they sent a lot of customers to us. So I am extending my condolences and everything to the business. It's pretty tough."
Despite the devastation to the Brick Bar just down the street, Sanchez is also confident the neighborhood will rally behind each other and ownership of Mulligan's in the coming days and weeks.
"These institutions for us are family. We're really tight-knit, we're a community. It brings a lot of just warmth," she said. "Everybody knows, everyone that goes to the Pink and goes to the Brick Bar, they're daily customers, they're always there. It's a really tight-knit community, so this happening, I hope everybody can stay together and the flow can keep going in Allentown. Now there's two vacant spaces there, and those are historic. Those are a big part of Allentown's history.
"It's not going to be the same ever, obviously, but hopefully we can come together as a community and push forward from this."