One of the newest additions to the Lucharitos business empire, a taqueria and tequila bar not yet fully open in Center Moriches, caught fire Saturday night.
According to an Instagram post on the Lucharitos page, owner Marc LaMaina was alerted at 10 p.m. that night to a building fire.
“Everyone is safe,” the post said. “We will be closed at Center Moriches indefinitely as we assess the situation and prepare to move forward.”
The business had been operating a food truck on weekends at the site as it waited for permits to restore the restaurant building. The food truck will be on hold indefinitely.
LaMaina said the fire happened in the storage garage behind the main restaurant and was likely caused by an equipment malfunction.
“The interior contents were all destroyed,” he said. “The structure is fine, so we just have to rebuild it.
LaMaina was hoping to turn the storage garage into a prep kitchen.
“We had hoped to begin renovations this week. It has been a very long and emotional road for us even before this happened,” his post said. “Just know we worked really really hard to get the property and product to where it was and are still so excited about what’s to come when the actual restaurant opens.”
LaMaina said on Tuesday that he is still hoping to have the location open by summer.
The restaurant, with locations in Greenport and Aquebogue, is expected to soon open another location in Mattituck and formally announced plans for a Melville spot last week.
Image Courtesy of Greater Moriches
