Published: April 20, 2007 10:58 pm            

Specialty card shop also destroyed in pub blaze

An second business was lost in the April 12 fire that destroyed the Paddy Wagon Irish Pub and an apartment at 128 E. Main St.

The Sophie Club, a card and stationery shop that featured products manufactured from around the world, suffered heat, water and smoke damage which destroyed its inventory, insurance agent Alan K. Hatfield said Friday.

The shop, which occupied a level of the building below the pub, is owned by a California woman who moved the shop to Richmond from Oakland, Calif., in June 2005, Hatfield said. “She has a sister who managed it for her here.”

The shop sold items that could be obtained at only a few places in this part of the country, he said

The cause of the fire that destroyed the two businesses and apartment remains undetermined, Hatfield said Friday.

“No one should speculate on where or how the fire started until we hear the results of the fire marshal’s investigation,” he said.

A quotation in a Richmond Register story Thursday could have led readers to believe that investigators had narrowed their search for the cause to some specific areas of the building, Hatfield said.

Corey Lewis, spokesperson for the Richmond Fire Department, said Tuesday a preliminary report from the Kentucky Fire Marshal could be available as early as next week.

Mark Cocanougher, co-owner of the building with Jim Leake, said the structure suffered too much damage in the fire to be saved and will be demolished.

Cocanougher said he and Leake plan to rebuild. Chuck Fields, co-owner of the Paddy Wagon with Greg Ferrell, said the business partners hope to re-open the popular pub. He would not speculate on how soon that might be.

The Sophie Club’s future is unclear. The owner could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. Information about the business can be obtained from its Web site: sophieclub.net.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@ richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.

        

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