Abo's Pizza damaged in fire

Mary Jo Wysocki, Manager of Winot Coffee in Cottonwood Square, just happened to arrive early to work at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, Aug. 6. She was opening the shop and was about to water the patio plants when she looked up to see smoke billowing from the recently mural-adorned external wall at Abo's Pizza.

"It was just my intuition that told me to get in early. I knew I was the only one seeing the smoke and it was up to me to call 911 right away," she said. "I'd headed out of Winot late the night before after serving drinks at Dancing Under the Stars, and hadn't seen anything at that point."

Wysocki greeted the first firefighting crew to arrive, Mountain View Fire Protection Unit 2204, and was able to inform first responders that Abo's was likely unoccupied. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office arrived next.

Fire investigator Doug Saba explained that fire personnel forced entry to confirm the building did not have any victims. "Once the building was clear, we began fighting the fire." Units from Boulder Rural Fire Department and the Longmont Fire Department arrived to help with the firefighting efforts. "Smoke was coming out of the door and out of the eaves. There was zero visibility at that point," Saba said.

It took just over an hour to extinguish the fire once Wysocki made the call to report the fire. "Thank goodness nobody was hurt," she marveled.

Shortly after the fire was extinguished, the Boulder Sheriff's office made the rounds to local business owners sharing walls with Abo's in Cottonwood Square to alert them to the situation and to check on their storefronts.

The Garden Gate Cafe, located next door to Abo's, shut down for the day when the gas was turned off for safety reasons. Waitress Dawn Dunlap, featured recently as a Familiar Face in the Courier, was in front of the restaurant calling business owners and offering assistance however she could.

Jeff Riegel, owner of Abo's, arrived to see the significant damage to his shop. "It was overwhelming, and I'm trying to keep it together," he said bravely. "We were able to see what happened on video, and about an hour after the last employee left, there appeared a flame. It just spiraled from there."

The fire spread to the wall behind the pizza oven. An official cause has not yet been determined, as the fire investigation is ongoing at this time.

Blessings Day Spa owner Julie Stenz spoke with Riegel to offer support, and quickly established a Go Fund Me page (https://gofund.me/b8403f46) to help Riegel start the process of rebuilding, address any immediate employee needs, and meet insurance deductibles.

"We're such a close community, and it is devastating to see this happen to one of our own," Stenz commiserated.

Chico's Grooming Spa owner Wendy Mariscal shares walls with Abo's as well, and spent the day operating fans in her space to clear smoke. Both Mariscal and Stenz canceled appointments for the day to make sure their locations are safe for clients. "I'm just so glad nobody was hurt," Mariscal said.