The Charles Village Pub, the beloved neighborhood bar on St. Paul Street, has shut down indefinitely following a grease fire Tuesday morning.
Reached by phone, CVP general manager Amanda Coyle confirmed a fire had shuttered the popular bar and restaurant. A sign taped to the front door on Tuesday afternoon said the establishment is “temporarily closed.”
“We are working on rebuilding,” she said. “Thoughts and prayers to the staff that will be temporarily be out of work until we get up and running.”
“We appreciate community support and the kindness of the community that’s kept us in business for so many years,” she added.
The bar, known for its cheap drinks, friendly service, good bar food–including a roster of locally inspired club sandwiches–and loyal following, has been a mainstay of the neighborhood since it opened in 1985.
Tom Ward, manager of Eddie’s Liquors next door, said he saw the fire break out. “There was a ton of smoke coming out of the place. The grease fire, it went all the way up to the ceiling, so the fire department had to come and hose down the top ceiling because the fire started spreading upwards.”
Ward said the bar’s owner “got a little bit burned” but didn’t require medical attention. He wasn’t aware of any other injuries.
Baltimore Fire Department spokeswoman Blair Skinner said in an email that units arrived at the bar just before 10 am. to find the fire already extinguished and smoke coming from the building.
“The fire was contained to the kitchen with some extension to the ceiling,” she said.
No one was injured, she said. The cause is under investigation.
Eddie’s Liquors and other bars are banding together to help the Charles Village Pub staff, Ward said. “We’re gonna start fundraising too to help the employees out, because they have to be out for an extended period of time.”
A separate online fundraiser for displaced employees, started Tuesday afternoon, seeks to support employees who have lost their jobs and income to pay living expenses and feed their families.
“We all know and love this place, and it is truly the people that are behind the bar that make it as special as it is,” the fundraiser reads. “Please consider donating whatever you can to help our extended family stay afloat during this troubling time. Peace and love and LOVE LIVE CVP.”
This story has been updated.
