BUFFALO, N.Y. — If Cheers is the bar where everyone knows your name, The Old Pink was a distant cousin.
What many Allentowners and Buffalonians referred to as “a safe haven” or their “second home” was demolished Monday afternoon after it went up in flames just hours before – burying decades of memories in the rubble.
“It feels like a part of my soul died today,” said one employee at the bar.
The two-alarm fire started around 5:45 a.m. Monday with crews responding to the scene and finding The Pink engulfed in heavy smoke. Firefighters were unable to attack from the inside because of the massive flames.
No one was inside at the time, and crews were able to contain it to just the bar.
No cause for the fire has been released yet.
“It appears the fire started in the exterior of the building, lower rear exterior,” Buffalo Fire Chief William Renaldo said. “But more on that as it definitely is still under investigation.”
Officials say damages are estimated to be about $1.25 million and that there’s no word at this time on if The Pink will be able to be rebuilt.
As the demolition wrapped, the empty lot flooded with patrons of the bar, eager to collect a brick as a memory.
Its uncertain future leaves many across the city lost. All they have left are the bricks they picked up and the memories of the famous steak sandwiches and what many called the best music in town.
“It's the bar that makes you feel like you belong,” said Buffalo resident Olivia Abbate. “You really want to be there. A little piece of all of us left in The Pink.”
But as they sat and watched their favorite establishment turn to rubble, those in attendance were nostalgic for the great times they had there.
“That place will always be that place,” said Buffalo resident Connor Baetzhold. “The Pink will always be The Pink, and I think that's what it was meant to be.”
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