A fire in Denville, New Jersey, has severely damaged two popular cafes on East Main Street. Cafe Crevier and Chocolatine are both boarded up today, with plywood hammered to the front doors hiding the damage left behind by smoke and flames.
The fire started within Cafe Crevier and sparked just before one o'clock on Tuesday morning. Denville police said the fire eventually spread from Cafe Crevier to the neighbouring Chocolatine. So far there is no word on what caused the fire.
Two other businesses on the street also appear to have suffered damage. Throttle Racing Club, which was set to open this weekend, and A&R Interiors were both affected by the fire that spread along the commercial strip.
The owner of Chocolatine posted a message saying it is heartbreaking to share that the Denville location was impacted by a fire that occurred nearby. While they evaluate the extent of the damage and determine next steps, the Denville shop will remain closed indefinitely.
The ownership of Cafe Crevier also posted that they would be closed until further notice. They noted that all questions should be sent to their lawyer, indicating the seriousness of the situation.
Some people were actually walking up to Cafe Crevier for lunch today unaware that it was closed. The boarded-up storefronts came as a surprise to regular customers who had not yet heard about the overnight fire.
Other regular customers expressed sympathy. Catherine DeCarolis at Beignets along Broadway called it really devastating because those were two different businesses' livelihoods. The Morris County Prosecutor's Office is now in charge of determining exactly how the fire started.