BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – It has been nearly two weeks since the fire at the Old Pink in Allentown. Now, other bars in Buffalo are doing what they can to help former employees get back on their feet.
Paul Baggs, the bar manager at Mulligan’s Brick Bar, got word of the fire just hours after it happened. He had just returned home from closing his establishment when he started to see pictures surface online.
Baggs knew he wanted to help in any way possible. He described the businesses on Allen Street as a tight-knit community.
“Some people think that the Old Pink was one kind of bar and that Mulligan’s was very different,” Baggs said. “The reality is that we have always shared a crowd. People would come out and have a couple of drinks, and then they’d get hungry and want a steak sandwich, so they’d go next door or vice versa.”
Baggs said a lot was running across his mind when he finally arrived at the scene of the fire. At first, he was concerned about Mulligan’s being damaged. After realizing the fire was contained, he started thinking about all of the people affected, including the Old Pink’s employees.