Fire guts Mexican restaurant on Main Street in Matawan and damages pet shop next door
[I’m including the text in case it’s behind a firewall for some.]
MATAWAN—A fire destroyed a Mexican restaurant on Main Street in the borough early Tuesday and damaged a pet shop next to it, police said.
The blaze at Aby’s Mexican Restaurant was reported shortly after 2:30 a.m.
First responders saw smoke billowing from the rear of the one-story brick building at 32 Main Street and flames showing within it, Detective Joseph Mason of the Matawan Police Department said.
It took about an hour for firefighters to knock down the bulk of the blaze, he said.
The fire heavily damaged the restaurant, gutting it, he said. The business next to it, Bird Lover’s Paradise, suffered some damage, although the extent of it was not yet available.
The Monmouth County SPCA was called in to take some of the birds, Mason said. There was no immediate word on whether any were injured or killed in the blaze.
A message left with the SPCA and another sent to the Bird Lover’s Paradise Facebook page were not immediately returned.
According to the restaurant’s website, it opened in 2002, starting off as a pizzeria then gradually shifting over to Mexican food.
No cause of the fire has been determined, Mason said. The Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.
