New Haven Independent

Latoyia Jordan and Kassum Patel (pictured right to left) resumed doling out caffeine after a day off Wednesday, when smoke poured into the air in the biggest downtown fire in decades.

The store, at Church and Center Streets, closed at about 7 a.m. Wednesday when flames leaped up through the nearby Brass Monkey bar on Center Street. Customers, deprived of their daily cup, “were very mad,” said the store manager Mashood Sanni. As the store closed, customers were standing outside, demanding, “we want coffee!” Sanni’s staff were back serving hot cups at 6 a.m. Thursday.

Nearby the shop on Center Street, demolition crews were busy at work. Two yellow wreckers were scooping out the foundation of the Brass Monkey, better known as the former Tune Inn club, on Center Street. The three-alarm fire is believed to have started towards the rear of the bar at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. Center Street was closed to traffic Thursday; all other streets had been opened.

Demolition is being undertaken by the city, said Mayor John DeStefano Jr. at a press briefing Thursday afternoon. The state Department of Environmental Protection is expected to report soon as to whether there is asbestos in the rubble. Depending on the DEP report, the demo should cost between $200,000 and $500,000, the mayor said.

Six businesses were pronounced dead due to the fire, DeStefano said. Mad Rag, Expressions, Chinatown, New Haven Furniture, and the Brass Monkey, all housed in the former Kresge building, have been condemned and are slated for demolition. The New Haven Variety Store, which sustained significant water damage, is expected to be condemned, said the mayor. Police have been guarding the stores’ open windows to keep ransackers away.

“It is truly a blessing that no one was injured” said Paul Denz, who took ownership of the Kresge and Grant buildings earlier this year, in a press release. He said his “heart goes out” to the affected businesses, which were all his tenants.

A disrobed mannikin lay on the floor of the Expressions shop Thursday afternoon, getting piled with snow from the open windows and missing roof. The only remaining part of the Kresge building will be the facade on Church Street, DeStefano said.

All other businesses on that block between Center and Chapel Streets are expected to reopen, DeStefano said. Vito’s Deli, a 34-year-old sandwich shop on Center Street with a popular chicken parm, is expected to reopen Monday, by which time demolition and clean-up of the Brass Monkey should be complete, said DeStefano. Foot Locker received some smoke and water damage but should reopen soon, he said. The Mid-Block Parking Garage on Orange Street should be up and running as soon as it gets its utilities hooked up again.

For those businesses that were not so lucky, the Town Green Special Services District has helped set up a new Downtown Recovery Fund through the Community Foundation. The fund aims to support store employees who will suffer a loss of livelihood from the fire — for details call 401-4245 or look for updates at this website. The district is also helping displaced stores connect with downtown property owners so they can talk about relocating downtown, according to Scott Healy, the district’s director.

City inspectors entered the affected buildings at 7 a.m. Thursday to investigate the cause of the fire, said Fire Marshal Joe Cappucci. Two theories — one, that homeless people squatting in the building set something on fire; and two, that electrical work was done despite there being no permits taken out — are being probed and “have not been ruled out,” Cappucci said.