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The owner of the Hampton Market Place on Race Lane in East Hampton said Monday that he hopes to be able to reopen by March or April.
“I’m trying to move really super fast,” said Ronan O’Dwyer, “because I’m trying to get those 40 people to work.”
The food market was gutted on November 15 by a blaze that sent five firefighters to Southampton Hospital, where they were treated for smoke inhalation before being released. The interior—which held sushi, salad and hot food/stations, as well as a butcher, a large produce section, and an array of cut flowers—was ravaged by fire, smoke and water. As of Monday the parking lot was still cordoned off with police tape and plywood covered empty window sockets.
Pretty much everything was ruined, Mr. O’Dwyer said, except the food in an exterior walk-in refrigerator that he donated to the East Hampton Food Pantry.
With the summer over and winter holidays fast approaching, the destruction came at an especially bad time for the 40 people working at the market. “I’m trying to source some jobs for them around town with people I know,” Mr. O’Dwyer said. Meanwhile, they are “obviously on unemployment,” he said, adding, “We have 100-percent legitimate staff” and that “everyone is on the books.”
The fire, which started in the kitchen, was called in at about 7 p.m. by an employee who was cleaning after the market had closed; a bookkeeper was also on the premises. Firefighters “were there in seconds,” Mr. O’Dwyer said. “They were fantastic, very professional.” About 100 volunteers from East Hampton, Amagansett, Springs and Sag Harbor responded, and the fire was under control by 8:45 p.m. A hazardous materials crew scrubbed down the parking lot and some of the firefighting equipment.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation, East Hampton Village Fire Marshal Ken Cullum said on Friday. Mr. Cullum was out of the office from Monday to Wednesday this week and thus could not provide further information before this issue went to press. The East Hampton Town Fire Marshal’s Office said Mr. Cullum’s office alone was handling the investigation. According to a report from the East Hampton Village Police Department, which also responded to the incident, a stove had been left on by accident.
Mr. O’Dwyer said there was little that could be done while he was waiting for fire inspectors to examine the building for insurance purposes. He took the business over from George and Nina Bowden about two and a half years ago, he said, and when the market reopens he hopes to reconfigure some space so it can offer customers a complete, “up-to-date” section of organic goods, including milk, yogurt, cheeses, pastas, rices, and local vegetables. The building is owned by G&T Dairies Inc.
“Life throws you curves,” he said. “You can’t just stop, you’ve got to keep going.”
