A devastating fire has left the Fair Lawn Jewish community shell-shocked and wondering about the future of several local kosher businesses.

Shortly after 2 a.m. on Friday morning, July 26, the overnight crew at Zadies Kosher Bake Shop felt an unusual amount of heat and smelled smoke. Upon exiting the building into the rear parking lot, they saw smoke coming from the rear of Green Dragon Asian Cuisine, a non-kosher restaurant at the far end of the shopping center. They quickly alerted the proper authorities to the situation.

“The Fair Lawn Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a structure fire with flames coming from the rear of the Green Dragon Restaurant located on the 19 block of Fair Lawn Ave. at 2:27 a.m.,” the department wrote in a statement posted to Facebook. “Upon arrival, heavy smoke and fire was found coming from the rear of the building. Fair Lawn Assistant Fire Chief Ralph Rinaldo quickly transmitted a working fire assignment and also called for a second alarm.

“When we first pulled up there were flames coming out of the roof; it seems it was by the kitchen area, but that’s for the prosecutors to determine,” said Rinaldo about the scene. “We initially sent in an engine crew through the rear of the building to try to get a handle on it. Unfortunately, the fire quickly spread, compromising the roof. In the interest of safety, we opted to fight the fire from the exterior using aerial ladders. There was heavy air-handling equipment on the roof of the building. The roof collapsed shortly thereafter.

“Thankfully by that point everyone was out of the building,” Rinaldo said, echoing the sentiments of many regarding the blaze. “In addition, the fire got into the common cockloft of the building and spread horizontally to the other businesses in the complex.”

What started at Green Dragon Asian Cuisine spread quickly to Flynn’s Barbershop, Fair Lawn Roadhouse (a kosher restaurant and take-out spot that is also home to Mashu Mashu Kosher Sushi Bar), the triple-wide storefront of Zadies Kosher Bake Shop (the famous bakery whose goods can be found in stores far and wide), and Dream on Lash (a beauty salon). The firefighters were able to halt the fire before it reached the last store, Regency Cleaners (a dry cleaner).

According to Doug Sadowski, public information officer for the Fair Lawn Fire Department, there were no injuries to any of the more than 50 firefighters that were needed to extinguish the flames. It took roughly 90 minutes until the fire stopped progressing and another 30 until the flames were out completely. 

Mutual aid was provided by the fire departments of Elmwood Park, Glen Rock, Hawthorne, Paramus, Paterson, Saddle Brook and Wyckoff. Emergency units also responded from Fair Lawn Police, Fair Lawn Rescue Squad, Fair Lawn Office of Emergency Management and the Fair Lawn Volunteer Ambulance Corp.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known and is still under investigation by the Fair Lawn Fire Prevention Bureau.

An immediate outpouring of support was received by the businesses from many sources.

“We are so saddened to hear about the devastating fire in Fair Lawn that caused enormous damage to Zadies Kosher Bake Shop as well as the other stores in the shopping center,” wrote The Jewish Federation of North Jersey in an online statement. “We are grateful that no one was injured. Zadies is beloved by our community and until they reopen we will all miss their challah, babka, meltaways and so much more.”

Closer to home, those in Fair Lawn were already trying to think about what the business owners needed.

“I was devastated to learn about the fire this morning that has severely damaged some of our most treasured local businesses,” said Fair Lawn Mayor Gail Friedberg Rottenstrich. “The Fair Lawn Borough and community are ready to support the businesses in any way necessary.”

Local congressman (and a customer from time to time at Zadies), Representative Josh Gottheimer, said, “I was so sorry to wake up to this devastating news. I’m grateful to our first responders for their bravery and thinking about our small business owners and employees.”

Shortly after stopping by the shopping center early Friday afternoon to see the damage for himself, Gottheimer said, “It’s heartbreaking. I mean, not just for the business owners but for the entire community.”

After the businesses deal with their insurance companies, Gottheimer said his office will do all it can to help the businesses relocate.

This is not the first time that Zadies has dealt with an interruption in their business. This past July 11 marked the five year anniversary of the day that a car drove through the front of the bakery. That incident caused a closure that lasted three months.

“I’m upset that our employees don’t have jobs right now,” said Josh Steinberg, whose family owns Zaides. “I felt helpless watching it happen, but Zadies will be back, bigger and better than before.”

Though Zadies had been there for 19 years, Roadhouse and Mashu Mashu were newer additions.

Exactly five months from the first day of their soft opening, Fair Lawn Roadhouse was planning an official grand opening and ribbon-cutting in the coming weeks. They had brought Mashu Mashu Kosher Sushi Bar in from a previous location. The sushi counter was open for just 11 weeks before the fire.

“When I first heard the news, I said ‘Baruch Hashem’ that nobody was hurt,” said Nisan Shavit, owner of Mashu Mashu. “When I came to see the damage, I said ‘Baruch Dayan HaEmet’ because everything comes from Hashem and is meant to be. And I know Mashu Mashu will be back in some form in the future.”

Moshe Berow, owner of Fair Lawn Roadhouse, is looking towards the future.

“What’s next? We will just have to wait and see what options are out there,” Berow said. “We are focused on recapturing the momentum we had just started to gain and moving forward.”

Nati Burnside is a freelance writer living in Fair Lawn and is a man of many interests. He can be reached at [email protected].