Fire destroys restaurant, damages businesses in Bucks County
FEASTERVILLE, Pa. (WPVI) -- Fire officials say an early morning fire appears to have completely destroyed the Hong Kong King Buffet in Feasterville, Bucks County.
Three other businesses in the strip mall on the 700 block of Bustleton Pike were also damaged.
The one alarm blaze broke out just after 1 a.m. Monday in the kitchen at the Hong Kong King Buffet.
The fire marshal says the popular Chinese restaurant is a total loss. Part of the ceiling collapsed and even though crews prevented flames from spreading, smoke and water damage has devastated adjacent stores in the strip mall.
Glass and porcelain figurines sold in a neighboring gift shop will have to be cleaned individually by hand now that soot is covering them.
VIP Fashion dress shop just expanded to a location next door to the fire.
VIP Fashion co-owner Diana Pristasky tells us, "That store is everything to me. That's like what we always work for. We were just talking about how we just put in the last nail into the store, and now we don't know if it's even going to be alright to run."
Speaking to us from their original location only yards away and unaffected by the fire, the mother and daughter owners say their bridal shop is ok but their new location had prom inventory, including about 2,500 dresses.
The owners haven't gone inside to assess the damage yet. For now they will run everything out of their bridal store and promise to take care of customers.
Co-owner Anna Pristasky says, "I wanted to let the customers know that we will take care of every customer that bought a dress. Nobody's going to lose their money or anything."
David's Bridal is on the other side of the Chinese restaurant. Owners there issued a statement saying in part:
"We want to assure all customers that we will meet all order obligations that are due in the near future, and we will be reaching out to those customers within the next 24 hours with an update about their merchandise, orders and/or appointments."
The fire marshal returned to the scene mid-morning to sift through the damage inside and determine an official cause.
Firefighters say no one was inside and no firefighters were injured, even though the cold weather made for hazardous conditions like ice.
The owner of Hong Kong King Buffet tells Action News he hopes to rebuild.
Parts of Bustleton Pike and Street Road were detoured while crews remained at the scene.
