Residents in the Adrian area of St. John were awakened early Friday morning by hissing flames and billowing smoke coming from Midway Plaza’s Hot Spot, a small restaurant space that has not been in use for several months.
The fire began around 2 a.m. Virgin Islands Fire Service responded quickly and extinguished the fire not long after their arrival. No one was injured.
Midway owner Jerome Lake said he was alerted to the fire around 3 a.m. Flames did not spread to Midway’s gas station or grocery store, and both were open for business as usual on Friday. The animals Lake keeps behind the grocery store were not impacted by the fire.
Though the standalone Hot Spot structure was not currently in use, Lake had plans to use the space as a coffee shop, and he said definitively on Friday that he will rebuild.
V.I. Fire Service was on the scene midday on Friday investigating the cause of the fire, which is still unknown.
“I just hope to rebuild soon to serve the community,” said Lake. “Thank you to all my patrons for coming through and supporting Midway.”