BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — In Buffalo's Allentown neighborhood, the reality is setting in as many are coming to terms with the loss of The Old Pink.
A makeshift memorial and a pile of rubble are all that remains of The Old Pink, a signature of Buffalo's nightlife for decades.
Crews demolished The Old Pink on Monday afternoon after a massive fire on Monday morning.
David Arakelian is one of the owners of Nietzsche's in Allentown, a bar and restaurant across the street from where The Old Pink used to be. He and many others are wondering what's next.
"I don't know what they're going to do with it. I don't know if it will be a bar again," said Arakelian.
While it's not clear if the owners of The Old Pink plan to rebuild, one thing is clear. A lot of people are mourning the loss of the iconic establishment.
A GoFundMe has been created to help raise money to help the owner of the bar and the staff. On Monday night, the community showed up to what's left of The Old Pink for a candlelight vigil.
Candles, flowers, a wedding photo and even beer cans lay across the rubble of The Old Pink after the candlelight vigil
"It was the first funeral for a building I've ever been to," said Arakelian.
Another fan of The Old Pink is Catherine Amdur. She's also the Commissioner of Permit and Inspection Services in Buffalo now directly involved in helping decide what's next for this historic site in Allentown. She said they were able to preserve some of the historic pieces of the building.
"I looked at it with my team yesterday morning and asked that we save the Buffalo sign that was hanging over the front door, save the front door itself and the address numbers," said Amdur.
All items they can use if the owner does decide to rebuild.
Amdur said if the new owners or someone else does rebuilds plans would have to be approved by the zoning board.
While we wait to see what's next for the soon-to-be vacant lot the owners of Nietzsche's want people to know they're still open for business.
"This is how we never hoped to see an increase of people come through our doors. We've always loved The Pink and we love all the patrons there. We've been patrons there ourselves and we hope to offer our home to people who are looking for a place."
On Monday, in the aftermath of the fire, 7 News spoke with members of the community who shared their memories of the bar and its celebrated steak sandwich as well.
