SNOHOMISH – A fire gutted a landmark community store early Tuesday only months after the 80-year-old local gathering spot had reopened for business.
The 5:09 a.m. fire caused $50,000 in damage to Goettel’s Cathcart General Store on the corner of Broadway Avenue and 164th Street SE, said Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office investigator Tom Foster. The fire also destroyed the store’s products, estimated to be worth about $150,000.
No one was in the store when the fire started. A residence behind the building was not damaged.
The building, about five miles south of Snohomish, is the only convenience store in the Cathcart community, said Landon Atkin, a family friend who has known the store’s owner, Bruce Goettel, since Atkin was in elementary school.
Goettel worked for more than a year to fix up the store after he bought it, Atkin said. Now Goettel has to start over.
“He had it completely remodeled, it was gorgeous,” Atkin said. “It’s just a shame this had to happen.”
That wasn’t the only blow to Goettel. Foster said the owner’s boat was damaged in an accident on Lake Washington a month ago.
“Then he got hit again,” Foster said.
A malfunctioning cooler sparked the fire, which smoldered for a while before reaching the roof, Foster said. District 7 Deputy Fire Chief Eric Andrews said when firefighters arrived, flames could be seen shooting from the roof.
Neighbor Teresa Edwards, who lives behind the store, said she woke up to a car honking and saw smoke billowing out of the store.
Later that day, she peeked in the store and saw the damage.
“It’s pretty much gutted,” she said.
Tuesday morning, Goettel and some of his friends were sawing away at boards to help barricade the doors and windows that had been charred.
The exterior of the store looked almost normal. But inside, fire damage was heavy. Chips and other food items remained on their display stands, but the floors, walls and ceiling were blackened and charred.
“It’s a bummer,” Edwards said. “Now I’ll have to plan better (for getting groceries). I can’t just go next door.”
Andrews said it looked like the building could be repaired. Goettel and his family members declined to comment.
Locals said the store, built in 1925, has been a morning gathering spot for Cathcart residents who would stop by to grab some coffee.
Edwards called it “a homey mom-and-pop store.”
Atkin called it a landmark in the area.
“Everyone knows that Cathcart store,” he said.
Atkin said he thinks Goettel will repair the store again and said his friend was handling the situation well considering the circumstances. Still, it was a rough day for everyone who knows Goettel or shops at the store.
“I can’t believe that happened to him,” Atkin said. “To just have it burn away like that, my heart dropped a bit.”
Reporter Chris Collins: 425-339-3436 or ccollins@heraldnet.com.
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