It won\u2019t be long before the burned-out remains of Fork n\u2019 Pint are cleared away, according to Waterford Township officials and a demolition contractor.<\/p>\n
Bob Hoffman, an Oakland County commissioner whose business portfolio includes the demolition company American Recycling, said he expects to sign a contract with the restaurant\u2019s owners soon.<\/p>\n
Doug Young, one of the restaurant\u2019s owners, and manager Bill Schwab did not respond to The Oakland Press\u2019 requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Gene Butcher, Waterford\u2019s deputy fire chief and former fire marshal, investigated the fire and said neither he nor the insurance company\u2019s investigator could find a definitive cause, likely because of the intensity of the blaze. He said it was clear that the fire started outside, at the back of the building at 4000 Cass Elizabeth Road, but is not considered suspicious.<\/p>\n
As far as timing for work on the site, Hoffman said, he can\u2019t \u201csay the exact start date of demolition, because we\u2019re waiting on notifications from Consumers Energy and DTE that services are disconnected for safety reasons,\u201d adding \u201cit should be relatively soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoffman said he grew up near the restaurant when it was called Mitch\u2019s and owned by a local family. Mitch\u2019s and Fork n\u2019 Pint were community favorites, he said.<\/p>\n
Township Supervisor Anthony Bartolotta said he was relieved to learn the building would come down sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy it took so long, I have no idea,\u201d he said, adding that he was glad to see a long-empty Don Pablo\u2019s Mexican Kitchen at 513 N. Telegraph Road, demolished after a significant fire in August.<\/p>\n
Bartolotta said Fork n\u2019 Pint officials told him that an insurance dispute was behind the delay in removing the debris from the May 1 fire<\/p>\n
The township\u2019s building division superintendent, Rick Hutchinson, told The Oakland Press he\u2019s been in regular contact with the restaurant\u2019s owners, brothers Doug and Burge Young, and was aware of the insurance dispute. Hutchinson said he learned Tuesday afternoon that the Youngs plan to apply for a demolition permit this month.<\/p>\n
Based on Tuesday\u2019s conversation with the restaurant officials, Hutchinson said, \u201cthis isn\u2019t something they are just telling me to make me go away.\u201d<\/p>\n