BUFFALO, N.Y. — A fire at a shopping plaza at the intersection of Eggert and Kensington in East Buffalo will leave six stores closed until further notice.
Those stores being Family Dollar, Olivia’s Oasis, Nickel City Laundromat, Buffalo SNUG Neighborhood Violence Prevention Center, DaVita Cleve-Hill Dialysis and Rent-A-Center.
Late Saturday afternoon, shoppers were met with a plume of smoke on their way to the store.
“When I went outside there was a whole lot of black smoke,” said manager of Kensington Pizza, Chavonne Licht
“[When the fire started], we were open for business, so there were probably 10-15 customers waiting outside for their clothes,” said Michael Gersitz, who owns the Nickel City Laundromat.
According to the Buffalo Fire Fepartment there were no injuries, but the blaze caused $3 million in damage.
“We have to wait for the city to give us all clear to get the electricians back in there to get the electric back on. Then, [we need to] get the water and gas back going.” Gersitz said. “Those are the three major things we need to open.”
Darrell Harge is an employee at the Family Dollar in the plaza. He stopped by Sunday evening for some groceries, but he hadn’t received news from any of his managers that the store was closed nor that it was caught up in the fire.
“I guess I’m going to have to find me another job. I don’t know”
Harge is scheduled to work his normal shift Monday and has received no word on whether or not he’s supposed to show up.
“I’m going to come here on Monday to see what’s going on. I hope my boss shows up to tell me ‘We’re closed’ or something.”
Gersitz was told the fire started next door to his laundromat. He said he will be open again, however, he just doesn’t know when.
“I know you haven’t seen inside the other unit but it’s a mess. I walked in last night and there was like 6 inches of water and there was a burst water pipe just flowing water out. But, as soon as they say we can open you can guarantee we will be open.”
In the meantime, half of the businesses in the plaza are now closed, which could decrease the number of customers stopping by the other businesses still open.
“[It could have an effect], cause they’re not open and we don’t know when they may open up,” Licht said. “I’ve heard they may have to redo the whole building.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
