Mulligan’s Brick Bar expected to be cleared out by next week

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Crews are continuing to demolish Mulligan’s Brick Bar on Allen Street after a large fire broke out early Sunday morning, city officials said.

Cleanup of the entire site is expected to be done by next week. Crews worked Wednesday and Thursday to remove the debris and will continue demolition in the days ahead. A city spokesperson says the building is mostly down as of Thursday afternoon.

Allen Street has reopened to one lane traffic between Elmwood Avenue and Wadsworth Street.

Community members are asked to respect the owner of the bar and refrain from taking anything from the property. Artifacts are currently being assessed to preserve for the history museum.

The fire on Sunday caused an estimated total of $2.1 million in damage.

Crews started demolition around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. An investigation by the Buffalo Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has officially ruled the cause of the fire, which broke out just before 4 a.m., as undetermined and it’s being classified as accidental.

Officials said the fire was mostly likely the result of an electrical or mechanical malfunction.

Demolition stopped for the day when the excavator’s hydraulic line froze and snapped. Crews will resume demolition Thursday.

The demolition was originally scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, but was put on a 24-hour pause Monday night. Acting Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon said in a statement that the decision followed conversations with the building’s owner, Preservation Buffalo Niagara and community representatives.

“This pause will allow for further discussions to explore potential stabilization options for the building,” Scanlon said. “Should a viable solution not be reached, demolition will proceed as planned on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at 9:00 AM.”

However, officials confirmed Tuesday evening that a solution to save the structure could not be found, and demolition would proceed Wednesday morning.

Buffalo Common Council Member Mitch Nowakowski, who represents the district Mulligan’s is in, said city officials and preservationists were in communication on how to proceed, but the building being privately owned presented a roadblock to stabilization.

“The fact of the matter is, this structure is privately owned, so in order to get emergency stabilization, we would need the owner to have to engage that process, to put up those resources, to have the capacity to do that,” Nowakowski said. “The owner, after talking with multiple people, has stated that she does not desire to emergency stabilize this structure.”

Executive Director of Preservation Buffalo Niagara Bernice Radle said stabilization efforts would have cost around $150,000 to $200,000, adding that demolition also isn’t a cheap process.

Local preservationists previously said if the rest of the building can be stabilized, a historic tax credit program may pay for some of the cost to rebuild it.

Both Scanlon and Vice President of the Allentown Association Josh Wilson said in the case of future fires destroying historic buildings, legislation needs to be enacted to protect the structures.

“If this does happen, we have to have the procedures and law in place so that the city can step in and make sure that a bar owner can’t allow a building like this to be demolished in our community,” Wilson said. “This is the fabric of our community. It’s a beautiful building and it’s just very unfortunate.”

The fire caused an estimated $1.5 million in damage to the building’s structure and $600,000 to its contents.

“There are truly no words to express the heartbreak I feel for my bar — our bar — Mulligan’s Brick Bar,” Mulligan’s owner Kim Rossi said in a statement. “Following the devastating fire that occurred early Sunday morning, I am deeply saddened to share that the damage is beyond repair, and the bar is a total loss.”

Rossi said she is donating salvageable items of historical significance to the Buffalo History Museum. She also said someone made a fake GoFundMe under the name of her late partner. GoFundMe told WIVB News 4 that the site was removed and the one $25 donation was refunded.

“Since the fire, the city was in close discussions with the owner in exploring multiple options to avoid total demolition,” Scanlon said in a statement. “However, after careful consideration with the business owner, along with the urgent need and time sensitivity to address the immediate risk to public safety, and concern for the impact on other Allen Street businesses, we are in agreement to proceed with the demolition of Mulligan’s Brick Bar.”

The building has been in the area since 1897 and is located next to where The Old Pink once stood before it was destroyed in a fire back in June. That fire caused an estimated $1.25 million in damages.

John W. Burns, 40, of Buffalo, was arrested and charged with setting fire to The Old Pink in September. In a press conference Sunday afternoon, officials said that there was no connection between the two fires.

The Allentown Association on Sunday had called for the preservation or partial preservation of the bar, with the building’s facade being a priority.

GoFundMe verified two donation pages that were created for Mulligan’s and those impacted by the fire, which can be found here and here.

Latest Local News

‘It sparked a light in me’: Josh Allen’s massive impact on Oishei Hospital children

Watch Saturday’s News 4 at 6 live online

No championship hangover for Bandits

Buffalo music staple to close at end of January

Man accused of stealing more than $14K from Bath and Body Works

Katie Skoog joined the News 4 team in April 2024. She is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. You can view more of her work here.

Patrick Ryan is an award-winning reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2020. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo.