EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A Downtown El Paso business is dealing with what it says is thousands of dollars of lost merchandise after a weekend fire.
The El Paso Fire Department says it responded to a fire at about 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10 in the alleyway near 511 S. Stanton St.
Grace Hong, daughter of the owners of Grace Trading, said her parents have owned the store for over 20 years. Hong said that she and her family were not notified about the fire until they came into work on Monday morning.
“This is a huge detriment to the business as as we’re preparing for the holiday season. This is the busiest time of year for most businesses here in El Paso, and our employees worked really hard to prepare for the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holiday,” Hong said.
Hong said a storage unit in the back of the store, full of new merchandise, was destroyed in the fire.
“All of this is over $50,000 worth of damages, merchandise that we’ve been storing and collecting over the past couple of months in preparation to sell,” she said.
The Fire Department said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it’s believed to be electrical. In a statement to KTSM the El Paso Electric Company said in part:
“We are waiting for the report from the El Paso Fire Department regarding a fire that took place at 511 S. Stanton.”
They added that for safety reasons, they disconnected power to the business.
The owners of Grace Trading said they are closing the store for a few days.
KTSM also spoke to an employee of Grace Trading who told us in Spanish, that the fire not only impacts the owners but the employees as well.
“It’s a loss for them, but it’s also a loss for us, the employees, because this is also how we make a living for our families,” Sara Rodriguez said.
The Hong family has started a GoFundMe page to raise money to help recover what they have lost.
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