Salinas residents encouraged to shop local after a massive fire closed Main Street

It’s back to business in Old Town Salinas after a fire at the Dick Bruhn building shut down the 300 block of Main Street for days.

“It was very scary,” said Maggie Thompson.

Thompson at the Pink Artichoke was there when the fire started just a few doors down. She said they had to close their doors because of the smoke.

“We lost a lot of customers coming in because the road was closed off,” said Thompson.

The road reopened on Wednesday and to help the businesses, Mayor Joe Gunter is encouraging residents to hit the Old Town shops this weekend.

“As you look at the 300 block of Main, you see a miracle. It’s still there,” said Gunter. “Come Saturday and spend $50. Let’s bring Old Town back to life in (a) surge to show the community how much we care about Old Town.”

Fire Chief Ed Rodriguez released new details Thursday about the fire. He said workers were inside the building at the time, but it’s unclear if they were supposed to be there.

“Our preliminary determination is that this fire was not set intentionally and spread quickly due to the physical characteristics of the building,” said Rodriguez.

While the exact causeof the fire isstill unknown, businesses on Main are hoping for a busy weekend.

“We’re hopeful that things get back to normal soon,” said Thompson.