LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — It was a massive fire in a strip mall across the street from UNLV and Saturday marks 50 days since the flames gutted a post office and other businesses.
Friday, FOX5 returned to University Gardens Plaza for an update.
All of the businesses in the strip mall that were not burned in the fire remain closed. Every business that remains standing is boarded up and “closed” is spray painted in black paint on the wooden boards.
“There wasn’t a sprinkler system in the building, so it just went up like paper… Unfortunately, that day we were on a vacation,” recounted Sean Nelson, owner of Tastebudz Creole Kitchen. The restaurant was in the middle section of the strip mall that had two-stories of business including the post office.
“It was wonderful… the energy, you felt it as soon as you enter the restaurant… It was like almost exactly 6 months. We opened it, January the 18th, and the fire happened July the 25th,” Nelson revealed.
Nelson and all his employees from the Maryland location have moved to a second location about 25 minutes away near the North Las Vegas Airport.
“We have all of the staff from over there working over here and just to keep them afloat,” Nelson explained to FOX5.
Nelson says he built each restaurant from the ground up and is confident he can do so again as his restaurant is gone.
Security which is now onsite 24/7 tells us they started removing all that remained in the burned section of the strip mall a couple weeks ago.
“I haven’t heard anything from the landlord since the fire… No response. Like zero communication, not an e-mail, not a letter. Nothing… It’s not just me. It’s everybody in that plaza,” Nelson contended.
Nelson says he wants pre-paid rent and his security deposit back as he now plans to open another restaurant in a new location.
As for the business that did not burn but were inundated with smoke and water including a boba shop, hair salon, vape store, arcade and insurance agency, Nelson says most are operating from another location but not all.
“That was their business for years. That’s all they’ve ever known. That’s all they’ve ever done. That’s all they’ve ever depended on and now not only did they lose their business, but they also have no source of income right now,” Nelsons shared.
The shopping center, built in the 80’s, had wood paneling throughout. It did not have fire sprinklers because it was built before laws required them. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
Late Friday night, a caretaker of the property shared with FOX5, demo of the burnt section of the strip mall is stalled for now as the fire continues to be investigated and the structural integrity of what remains is being assessed.
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