Early Wednesday morning, a fire broke out at beloved NYC arepa spot Caracas Arepa Bar, forcing the restaurant to shutter for as much as a year. According to Gothamist, there were no injuries and the building’s in good shape. But as owner Maribel Araujo told Gothamist, “the restaurant is pretty fucked up.”
The fire department arrived at around 2:30 a.m. after the building’s tenants reported smelling smoke. The FDNY didn’t find anything at the time. At 7:25 a.m., FDNY returned after people reported that more smoke had filled their apartments. Firefighters found a fire had broken out in the building’s basement. It doesn’t yet know what started the blaze.
Araujo doesn’t expect the East Village restaurant to open anytime soon. However, the neighboring take-out space will help them keep business afloat. “That’s where we started, so we know how to make it work,” she told DNA Info, adding that the Brooklyn outpost will give her extra prep room. “We’ll make it work.”