Two fires, 12 hours apart — both inside the same Henderson business.
They happened inside the Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop near Sunset and Green Valley Parkway on Saturday. The first blaze sparked just before 5:00 a.m. The second fire started around 4:30 p.m.
“I was in complete disbelief when the landlord called me and said that the building was on fire again,” said Capriotti’s owner Corey Melendrez.
The damage to the Capriotti’s includes a completely charred interior and a collapsed roof, as seen in photographs shared by the fire department.
“I think about it all day, all night last night, I laid awake thinking about how this happened,” Melendrez said.
Melendrez says the first fire was small and easily contained. The second fire is what led up to most of the destruction. The causes are unknown right now, but what is clear is the devastating effect.
“I have staff that don’t have work now and we’re not generating income and it’s affected the whole building,” Melendrez said. “There’s five businesses in that whole building, and all of us are inoperable right now.”
Store owners we spoke to say there is no electricity in the building right now. Along with the Capriotti’s, a neighboring water shop and locksmith are boarded up. The florist on the corner is cleaning up debris, including broken ceiling tiles. And a vapor shop is telling customers they are temporarily closed, and they should go to their other locations.
“I come to this place quite often,” said shopper William Bower, Jr. “I do go to this water place every day, so I’m going to spend a little bit more time, and some extra gas, just trying to figure it out. But it’ll work.”
Customers have hope these businesses will recover soon. And store owners have three things on their mind.
“How to restore it, rebuild it and reopen,” Melendrez said.
Fire officials say no one was hurt in the fire. There is no estimate for damages yet and the cause of both fires is still under investigation.
