Fire shuts two Chalkstone Avenue businesses

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — A fire forced a Providence pub to close its doors.

Video showed the moment the corner of Chalkstone and River avenues turned into an inferno.

“Overall reaction, it’s kind of like wow, just wow,” said Meki Thomas.

Thomas lives down the street. He saw the smoke.

“I thought it was a chimney at first, but yeah, it didn’t look like a chimney afterwards until we looked over there and the fire fighters and stuff,” Thomas said.

The fire started early Saturday morning at Botanica 21 Division. The door was boarded up Sunday, but people in the area told NBC 10 News that the flames spread fast and furious, partially damaging Gilligan’s Pub next door, a classic spot in the city.

“The bar is pretty much intact, which is their main source of income I’m sure for them,” said Touchdown Chicken owner Taylor Pires.

Touchdown Chicken is right across the street from Gilligan’s Pub on Chalkstone Avenue. TD Chicken opened three days ago, and the owner said he’s heartbroken to learn about the fire.

“They follow us on social media, we follow them. They embraced us when we came to Chalkstone Ave, so it’s sad to see that part of their building caught on fire,” Pires said.

Gilligan’s Pub posted on Instagram that due to the fire, their doors are closed and at the moment, the bar doesn’t know when it can reopen.

Pires said he’s confident they’ll bounce back.

“They’re pretty resilient, so I know that they are going to get back running soon and maybe even do some improvements in the building. So, that’s a good thing always try to see the positive instead of the negative,” Pires said.

Botanica 21 Division and Gilligan’s Pub both have a long road ahead.

“Thank God no one got hurt, and hopefully they can come back better than ever,” Pires said.