BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — City officials believe the fire that destroyed The Old Pink in Buffalo's Allentown neighborhood was intentionally set.
The two-alarm fire started just before 6 a.m. on June 17 in the back of the historic bar.
The Old Pink was deemed a total loss with damage estimated at $1.25 million.
In the video below, you can see construction crews knock down what was left of The Pink after the fire.
A city spokesperson says a person of interest has been identified with the help of video from the scene and witness accounts.
The fire remains under investigation.
The bar meant a lot to the community, its employees and its patrons.
After the fire, the community showed up to what was left of the iconic bar for a candlelight vigil.
"I grew up here, lived here, wandered these streets...everybody from homeless people to rock stars...they all fit in this place...it all worked," said Takac. "It was more about the way you thought and less about how much you had or any kind of that stuff. It's time to march on, but people will always remember this."
7 News also spoke with Molly Brinkworth, the longtime owner of The Pink. She shared the same sentiment as Takac, saying in part that the customers made the bar a family.
"At the end of the day it's my customers, they made my bar a family and we became this subculture of craziness," said Brinkworth. "I'm so lucky that I got to sit on my bar stool and I met people from around the world."
