The arson that destroyed four businesses and damaged neighboring Taproot Theatre has been called "disheartening" and "numbing." But despite the burn marks and residual smoky smell it's not difficult to see the Greenwood fire near North 85th Street and Greenwood Avenue North was, above all, about destruction.
After an investigation, the Seattle Fire Department determined an arsonist started the fire in the Green Bean Coffeehouse. No arrests have been made for the fire that caused $2 million in damage.
Dealing with the loss of Green Bean was difficult enough, said the coffee shop's manager, Summer Mohrlang, but the involvement of arson compounds the loss.
"It's hard to imagine someone feeling angry enough at anyone or at the Green Bean to do that," Mohrlang said. "The Green Bean has always been a positive place for people. And the net result is the same: All four of us don't have our businesses anymore."
The fire consumed the Green Bean before moving on to destroy three neighboring restaurants in the Eleanor Roosevelt Building: C.C. Teriyaki & Wok, Szechuan Bistro and Pho Tic-Tac.
"I don't think you ever expect something like that," Mohrlang said. "By the time we got down there, it felt like the whole community was kind of standing there in shock, watching the whole block burn."
Green Bean was also a nonprofit organization owned and operated by Sanctuary Church. Most of the church's equipment was unrecoverable, according to Mohrlang. For now, the church services will take place at The Upper Crust banquet facility on the southeast corner of 85th and Greenwood.
Future plans
Though Mohrlang is unsure of where, Sanctuary Church plans to find a temporary location for the Green Bean nearby within the next week or so. Right now, the biggest task is making an inventory of the losses to file insurance paperwork and to find alternate spaces for the events Green Bean hosted. Kids Storytime on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. has been moved to the Sip & Ship, 8560 Greenwood Ave. N.
"We really want to have a space like that again for people to come together," Mohrlang said. "Just hearing how important that place was - not just to our church but the neighborhood - has been confirmation to me that what we were doing there was valuable. It makes me want to throw myself into trying to keep it around."
In recognition of the fire's devastation for the neighboring businesses, Sanctuary Church started the Greenwood Fire Relief Fund at Chase Bank. Anyone can stop by a Chase Bank and give to the fund, which will be disbursed evenly among the four businesses. So far, $1,500 has been collected. Morhlang hopes to be able to give at least $1,000 to each business.
The future of the other family-owned businesses is unclear at this point, though Pho Tic-Tac had just recently opened up another location at North 145th Street and Aurora Avenue North.
Assessing damages
While these four businesses face a complete loss, the gutted Taproot Theatre plugs away to assess the extensive smoke and water damage to its property. Belfor Property Restoration continues to remove damaged materials and what's left of the smoky drywall.
The upper lobby has been stripped to bare rafters, and a scorched wall upstairs where the ceiling collapsed shows where the fire entered the theater. Between the fire department and the attic's sprinkler system the fire was fairly contained within the theater, however.
Somehow, the backdrop for the theater's latest production "Enchanted April" survived unscathed, but at this point it's the only sign this space actually is a theater. With just the "bare bones and no meat left," Taproot's artistic director Scott Nolte said the theater almost looks like it's under construction. "We could've been a haunted house."
But the charred walls, uprooted toilets and broken drywall remind people the infrastructure is being dismantled, not renovated. And the ashy floors, where 226 seats used to be, are another reminder of the reality of the situation.
"This used to be a theater," Nolte said. "It's overwhelming...Why in the world someone would inflict this damage is just numbing. We will be redoubling our efforts to get this theater open as soon as we can."
However, the extent of the damages and assessment of items that could be recovered will take some time. Nolte said Taproot will work with contractors to figure out how to rebuild the theater and develop a timeline. Though the theater will be basically reconstructed, he said the aesthetics of the space prior to the fire will be maintained.
Though Taproot owns the adjacent Eleanor Roosevelt building, which will be torn down, Nolte said the theater is still trying to figure what to do with that space. Right now, theater employees are itemizing every prop for insurance paperwork and trying to determine what can be saved.
Taproot's world premiere production of John Longenbaugh's "Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol" has been put on a hold because an adequate venue could not be found in time. But Taproot will bring back "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play," which will be performed at North Seattle Community College. The show runs from Nov. 27 through Dec. 30.[[In-content Ad]]
