PORT ANGELES — Northwest Fudge and Confections will open on Tuesday in a temporary location after upstairs fire sprinklers doused the store and inventory last month.
The sprinklers went off after a fire broke out in a fourth-floor apartment in Lee Plaza, the former Lee Hotel at 112 W. First St., and no one was home to report it.
As the Fire Department searched the building to find the origin of the fire, thousands of gallons of water poured through the electrical system ultimately drenching the fudge shop and a portion of the next door Red Region tattoo parlor.
The fudge shop’s ceiling and walls were seriously damaged in the Jan 16 fire, so it has moved to the site of the former Romantic Notions — across the street at 121½ W. First St, while repairs are made.
“It is kind of narrow, but it works and it was available,” said Lindi Lumens, who owns the store with her husband, Bob.
The temporary store, which is longer and narrower than the former site, led to a new arrangement of everything, Bob Lumens said.
A group of about 20 workers helped move the sweets store across the street.
The workers included Port Angeles Downtown Association members, Lee Plaza residents, friends and family, Bob Lumens said.
The couple will purchase some remaining inventory at a gift fair today and reopen on Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Lindi Lumens said.
The couple said they will likely be at the place for a month or two, depending on how long it takes the Clallam County Housing Authority — which owns the Lee Plaza Building — to repair the ceiling, which had to be torn out and repaired, Bob Lumens said.
On a lighter note, the couple joked that the temporary location was already painted to match their decor.
“It was already pink, which was one of our colors,” Lindi Lumens said.
“It was meant to be,” her daughter, added Cori, who was helping her parents move.
Red Region planned to temporarily relocate to Electric Beach, 117 N. Oak St., the Lumenses said.
Aarron Laidig, owner of Red Region tattoo could not be reached on Sunday for comment, but a message on the company’s answering machine stated that those who had questions about tattoo appointments could reach Laidig at 360-452-3131 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday.
No one was hurt in the fire, which was limited to the stove of one apartment and a small portion of the wall because the sprinklers kept it under control, but two residents, who have not been named, were also relocated while work is done on the apartments upstairs.
