Colorado Springs coffee shop trying to recoup after fire next door impacts business
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)- Bingo Burger, a well-known burger restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs will not be reopening after a fire broke out last month. But the coffee shop next door to the business continues to see the effects from the fire.
Mike Hartkop, the owner at Solar Roast Coffee, showed KRDO13 the smoke damage the fire at Bingo Burger did to his business.
"First glance, it didn't look so bad but when you rubbed your hand on something, your fingers just came back jet black," said Hartkop.
According to the Colorado Springs Fire Department, the fire was caused by a combination of cleaning chemicals stored improperly.
The Oct. 5 fire left thousands of dollars worth of damages, according to the owner of Solar Roast Coffee.
"Over $110,000 in damages. And I just stopped counting because we've got a deductible and we went way over our way over our allotted amount for business property," said Hartkop.
The owner of the coffee shop tells KRDO13 that before the fire happened right next door, they used to have anywhere between 100 to 200 customers daily.
"So we're really bummed. You really focus on gearing up for October, November, December. And we've just we've lost it. And so that's that's really tough to take," said Hartkop.
This fire left eight Solar Roast Coffee employees without a job according to the business.
"In the last month and a half, it's been really difficult and unfortunate, that the space has been gone, you know, for not only for the baristas and for the people who, you know, who work here, but also, like a lot of the customer base," John Bueno, employee.
Hartkop says they're thankful for all of the support they're receiving during this time.
"Thankfully, the Colorado Springs City Center Partnership was able to give us a grant of $10,000, which is helping us just get this cleaned out," said Hartkop.
The owner says he's hopeful that he'll be able to open up his coffee shop again next March.
