Sheesh remains closed following fire in August

The fire at Sheesh restaurant, located at 207 North Main St., occurred on Aug. 22 at about 11 a.m. A grease fire caused the incident, which also affected businesses neighboring Sheesh, according to Reka Farrakand, a fire inspector for the Ann Arbor Fire Department.

The fire took five hours to extinguish and smoke damage was more substantial due to the age of the building, Farrakand said.

Fifty-one firefighters from Ann Arbor, Pittsfield Township and Ypsilanti fire departments responded to the fire, which caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, according to an Aug. 22 AnnArbor.com article.

“(AAFD and additional departments) showed up because this was an old building, and old buildings have voids in between spaces, so the smoke traveled,” Farrakand said.

However, Farrakand said the AAFD’s response was timely.

“The fire was under control pretty quickly,” she said.

The future of the restaurant remains unknown. The owner of Sheesh did not respond to numerous inquiries from The Michigan Daily.

Eric Schreffler, co-owner of nearby computer store Mythlogic at 209 North Main St., said he is unsure of the current situation of Sheesh and hasn’t heard anything about the restaurant’s reopening.

Mythlogic had minimal smoke damage from the fire. The computer store subsequently hired a cleaning company, and the store opened again for business several days after the fire, Schreffler said.

“We didn’t have any damage to our garments or facilities,” Schreffler said. “We are pretty well off.”

Similarly, the other business bordering Sheesh, Edible Arrangements located at 205 North Main St., was not greatly affected by the fire. While the shop — which sells fruit gift baskets — was minimally damaged, storeowner Michelle Toul said she was already planning to relocate the business to Washtenaw Avenue.

“The fire gave a good opportunity to move out, since a lot of customers have complained about parking on Main Street,” Toul said.