Beloved local bar destroyed by fire leaves residents devastated

By Emma Richter for Dailymail.Com

6:59 p.m. on June 17, 2024, updated at 7:00 p.m. on June 17, 2024

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 – open since the 1990s – was badly damaged after catching fire at around 5.30am on Monday.

Dozens of firefighters extinguished the fire in Allentown around 5:45 a.m., but authorities said they were unable to enter the building due to the intensity of the fire. No one was inside or injured and it’s unclear what exactly started the fire, WGRZ reported.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, as the wooden dive bar suffered a reported $1.25 million in damage and was deemed a total loss, investigators said.

Out-of-control flames and thick smoke spread to nearby streets, with some remaining closed early Monday morning.

The Old Pink is considered a Buffalo landmark that owner Molly Brinkworth has operated for more than three decades.

“It has become a home, a family to so many people,” Colleen Evans, Brinkworth’s daughter, said on a GoFundMe page.

“Open daily, it was the first place you wanted to cheer home on Thanksgiving, or the place to grab a steak sandwich on Christmas Eve, the place you could always count for meeting or making new friends, and for all generations. appreciate. It was…now it’s gone.

The building was first known as the Jimmie Oates Pub before being renamed Birdie’s 19th Hole in the 1970s. In 1983, Mark Supples leased the bar from the Brinkworth family and called the bar Pink Flamingo, which later shortened to The Pink.

The bar is known for its dark, dreary interior, filled with black lights and music enjoyed by many Western New Yorkers.

It’s also famous for its beloved bar food, including its signature steak sandwiches that were added to the menu by Brinkworth’s father and uncle, Dennis and Kevin.

They brought the steak sandwich to the local bar after getting inspiration from a small New York restaurant, Buffalo Rising. reported.

Brinkworth told the outlet that since the sandwich was created, the recipe has remained the same.

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Many heartbroken customers took to social media to pay tribute to the Old Pink after the fire.

“The Pink was such an iconic Buffalo staple that I’m sure thousands of us have crazy memories of it (not to mention the bomb-a** steak sandwiches),” said one. them.

“So many phases of my life have been documented in The Old Pink Bathroom, 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,” another wrote.

Another said: “I am mourning the loss of a monument today. »

Amanda Lopez, a local resident who lives directly across the street from the Old Pink, told WIVB, “It’s just so sad to see.”

“So many people have so many memories in there, I think of the steak sandwiches, all the good times when the bars close and the roses are still open.”

“It’s still accessible to people, so I know it’s going to be hard for a lot of people to deal with. It’s been there for so long, not just for my generation but for the generations before me,” Lopez added.

New York State Senator Sean Ryan also shared his memories of the Buffalo staple.

“This bar was an icon. Not just for this neighborhood, but for all of WNY. One of my employees met her husband there,” he said.

“I’m having plumbing done at my house and he’s from Holland, New York, but he had met his wife here.”

“I’ve been through…almost all of my stages of adulthood have been in The Pink. I was probably here before I was supposed to be here and I would 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 his team.

WKBM said an emergency demolition was ordered for the burned building.

Authorities are focusing on one area of ​​the bar, but it’s still unclear what exactly 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 by the end of the day it will be completely gone,” the bar said in an Instagram post.

“Please come to the site and cry with us. Our legacy will live on through you.