Business owners wonder if they can rebuild after Mpls. fire

Some business owners are wondering if they can rebuild or relocate after a huge fire Wednesday torched a block of homes and businesses on West Broadway Avenue in north Minneapolis. No one was seriously injured in the three-alarm blaze.

Nader Abuammo bought the Brix Grocery at 915 W. Broadway Ave. about 25 years ago.

On Wednesday morning, he opened as usual.

"I got in and can smell smoke. Check the basement, no fire or flames. I went in the back room, and I could smell smoke," he said. "That's when I assumed there was a fire upstairs or the back of the building. That's when I left. I decide to call up the fire department."

Hours later, around 40 firefighters working in shifts were still fighting a fire that burned through the walls of several buildings on the block. The National Weather Service reported the fire was large enough to be seen on weather radar.

Abuammo's building appeared to be heavily damaged.

"I spent more than half my life here, and this is my only place, my only income," he said. "I have four or five people living in this place. It's really a hard time."

He's not sure what will happen to Brix Grocery, which opened in 1893.

"It all depends on how much damage we have on this property," he said. "I'd like to stay here and stand up again and serve the community here in north Minneapolis."

Other tenants, including Unbank and Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, will have to relocate, at least in the short term. NOC started raising funds online to support businesses and organizations affected by the fire.

Several of the storefronts had apartments above them, where about 20 people lived. All were accounted for and the Red Cross was standing by to help them, according to the Minneapolis Fire Department.

In the afternoon, Minneapolis City Councilman Blong Yang spoke with business owners at a parking lot across the street. He said the block is part of a strong retail engine on West Broadway Avenue.

"This is one of, let's say, two-and-a-half blocks or almost three blocks of historical buildings. There are a lot of shops here and a substantial number of businesses are out because of this," Yang said. "And there were some tenants who lived on the second floor and those people are out. And so it had a pretty traumatic effect on a lot of people, I imagine."

As the fire dwindled, Chris Hill, a 59-year-old butcher at Brix Grocery, came to see the damage. He's spent the last nine years cutting meat at the store and he's scared about what he'll do now for work.

"I've been cutting meat all my life. I like the area, I like the work. I've been getting all my bills paid. I've been taken care of pretty good right here," he said. "Hopefully, we can get it going again."

The fire department is investigating the cause of the blaze.