New York residents have been left devastated after a beloved local bar in Buffalo was destroyed by fire.
The Old Pink bar and grill on Allen Street – which has been open since the 1990s – was badly damaged after going up in flames around 5.30am on Monday.
Dozens of firefighters extinguished the Allentown fire around 5:45 a.m., but officials said they could not enter the building because the inferno was so intense. No one was inside or injured and it is unclear what started the fire. WGRZ reported.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation as the wooden dive bar sustained $1.25 million in reported damage and is considered a complete loss, investigators said.
The out-of-control flames and heavy smoke spread to nearby streets as some remained closed early Monday morning.
The Old Pink bar and grill on Allen Street was badly damaged after going up in flames around 5.30am on Monday
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation as the wooden dive bar has sustained $1.25 million in reported damage and is considered a complete loss. (photo: the bar before the fire)
The Old Pink is considered an iconic Buffalo landmark that owner Molly Brinkworth has managed for more than thirty years.
“It became a home, a family, for so many people,” Colleen Evans, Brinkworth’s daughter, said at one GoFundMe page.
‘Open every day, it was the first place you wanted to cheer while home on Thanksgiving, or the perfect place to grab a steak sandwich on Christmas Eve, the place you could always count on to meet or make new friends. and for all generations to enjoy. It was… now it’s gone.”
The building was first known as Jimmie Oates Pub before being renamed Birdie’s 19th Hole in the 1970s. In 1983, Mark Supples rented the bar from Brinkworth’s family and named the bar Pink Flamingo, later shortened to The Pink.
The bar is known for its dark and gloomy interior, filled with black lights and music that many Western New Yorkers enjoy.
It is also famous for its beloved bar food, including the iconic steak sandwiches added to the menu by Brinkworth’s father and uncle, Dennis and Kevin.
The bar is known for its dark and gloomy interior, filled with black lights and music that many Western New Yorkers enjoy
The Old Pink is considered an iconic Buffalo landmark that owner Molly Brinkworth has managed for more than thirty years. (photo: New York State Senator Sean Ryan on scene after the fire)
They brought the steak sandwich to the local bar after being inspired by a small restaurant in New York City. Buffaloes rise reported.
Brinkworth told the outlet that the recipe has remained the same since the sandwich’s introduction.
Many heartbroken customers took to social media to pay tribute to Old Pink after the fire.
“The Pink was one of those iconic Buffalo staples that I’m sure thousands of us have wild memories of (not to mention the bomb-a-steak sandwiches),” one person said.
“So many phases of my life were documented in the bathroom of The Old Pink, RIP, my favorite dive bar of all time. I will miss your red lights, dirty floors and broken toilet seats more than I can ever express,” wrote another.
Another said: ‘Mourning the loss of a milestone today.’
Amanda Lopez, a local resident who lives across the street from the Old Pink, shared WIVB: ‘It’s definitely so sad to see.’
“So many people have so many memories of that, I think of the steak sandwiches, of all the good times when the bars close and the pink ones are always open.”
The Old Pink is also known for its beloved bar food items, including the iconic steak sandwiches added to the menu by Brinkworth’s father and uncle, Dennis and Kevin.
“It’s always available to people, so I know it’s going to be hard for a lot of people to deal with. It has been around for so long, not even just for my generation, but for generations before me,” Lopez added.
New York State Senator Sean Ryan also shared memories of the Buffalo pile.
‘This bar was an icon. Not just for this neighborhood, but for all of WNY. One of my staffers met her husband there,” he said.
“I’m having some plumbing work done at my house and he’s from Holland, NY, but he met his wife here.”
“I’ve experienced… almost all my stages of adulthood taking place in The Pink. I was probably here before I was supposed to be here and I was going to leave, but this was the place…I’m going to miss it,” Ryan added.
As of Monday afternoon, the GoFundMe page has raised $2,255 to help Brinkworth and her employees.
WKBM said emergency demolition has been ordered for the burned building.
Officials are focusing on one part of the bar, but it’s still unclear what sparked the flames.
“Today was a devastating day for our staff, our community and the Brinkworth family. The Old Pink is currently being demolished and will be completely gone by the end of the day,” the bar said in a statement. Instagram post.
“Please come and grieve with us. Our legacy will live on through you.”