LOGAN SQUARE — Neighbors are raising money for a pair of Logan Square businesses that were damaged in an electrical fire late last week
The blaze started around 9:30 p.m. in Botanica Obatala, 3319 W. Armitage Ave., a religious shop that has called the street home for at least a decade, according to neighbors.
No one was injured, but the fire destroyed everything in the botancia, from figurines and books to beads and candles. Neighboring coffee shop Damn Fine Coffee Bar, 3317 W. Armitage Ave., also suffered from smoke damage inside and out.
On Monday, Botanica Obatala's storefront was boarded up and the sign had been taken down. It's unclear if the shop will reopen. Efforts to reach the owner were unsuccessful.
Fontaine Capel, who runs nearby arts space Hume, set up a GoFundMe campaign to help the owner recover. As of late Monday afternoon, the campaign had raised $1,631 toward its goal.
"This botánica has served as a religious and community center for the Logan Square Latinx community for years. It's now in danger of being shuttered forever," Capel wrote in the campaign.
Firefighters told Jude Goergen, co-owner of Damn Fine Coffee Bar, that the fire was classified as electrical, but didn't provide further information.
Dan Hanaway, co-owner of neighboring vegan restaurant Ground Control, described the scene as "extremely smoky."
"It was a ton of smoke. [The firefighters] were smashing the place up trying to get into it," Hanaway said, adding that it was mostly contained to the back of the storefront.
Ground Control, 3315 W. Armitage Ave., which is two doors down from the botanica, was largely spared in the fire. The vegetarian and vegan restaurant didn't suffer any smoke damage, though it was forced to close Friday and Saturday after losing power.
Damn Fine Coffee Bar, 3317 W. Armitage Ave., wasn't as lucky as Ground Control. The coffee shop suffered "significant smoke damage," and will remain closed while crews make the necessary repairs, according to Goergen.
"We don't have an absolute opening date. It could be as early as the end of the week or a month. We're hoping for the former though!" Goergen said.
A former Damn Fine employee set up a GoFundMe campaign to help make up for the loss of business and staff wages. As of late Monday afternoon, the campaign had raised $2,535 toward its $6,000 goal.
"I'm hoping the community can find it in their hearts to at least donate what they would have spent in the month they'll likely be closed to keep our friends afloat," Julie Mitchell Musgrove wrote.
Goergen said the shop launched a fundraiser for Musgrove when she was going through a personal hardship, so this was "her way to give back."
"For us the most important thing is to make sure our staff doesn't lose any income - so this really helps," he said.
