UPDATE: After meeting with local leaders and West Franklin Street business owners on Sunday, the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership confirmed an official GoFundMe campaign being used to provide financial support to Mediterranean Deli staff. Additional efforts to help out other affected businesses are expected to be announced in coming days.

Below is the initial story published on July 22.

The Chapel Hill Fire Department responded to a fire in a popular downtown block Saturday afternoon, which damaged a popular restaurant and other local businesses around it.

An official release from the department Saturday night said firefighters and first responders arrived to the 400 block of West Franklin Street around 2:30 p.m. A tweet from the department shortly after alerted people to Franklin Street being closed between Mallette Street and Kenan Street. Emergency officials encouraged everyone to avoid the area. Those already downtown could see the issue, as smoke billowed into the air from a fire at Mediterranean Deli. Photos from the scene shared on social media showed firefighters spraying the business’ roof.

Although the blaze took hours to battle, the Chapel Hill Fire Department did not report any injuries to those inside the building. It confirmed that one firefighter sustained a minor cut during its response and later said two other firefighters were transported to the hospital as a precaution for potential heat exhaustion. The department said at 5:31 p.m. that the fire had been contained and said it was possible with the support of several neighboring departments.

During the fire, local emergency services urged people traveling downtown to use Rosemary Street or Cameron Avenue as a detour around the block, with the extent of the firefighters’ response even closing West Rosemary Street down to one lane. As of 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, the eastbound lane of Franklin Street reopened. Officials said the westbound lane in front of the building will remain closed to traffic until Sunday morning as firefighters stay on scene.

Even before the fire was fully contained, efforts to support Med Deli had already sprung up on social media. Some community members created GoFundMe campaigns and several local leaders voiced their support of the restaurant and surrounding affected businesses.

The fire department said business leaders, town officials and West Franklin Street stakeholders will meet tomorrow to “begin developing plans to support the impacted businesses and staff members.” The cause of the fire remains under investigation as of Saturday night, according to the department’s release.

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