Closed Joe’s Crab Shack destroyed by fire
Cause of blaze at vacant eatery unknown
A small army of firefighters worked for hours Wednesday to extinguish an early-morning fire that destroyed the closed Joe’s Crab Shack in Sterling Heights.
Fire crews worked in the rain and cold weather to battle the blaze that broke out about 2:30 a.m. at the former eatery on Van Dyke Avenue, north of 14 Mile Road, on the outer edge of the Sterling Ponds shopping center property.
Sterling Heights Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Allen said investigators plan to return to the site Thursday to continue to look for the cause of the fire.
“The cause of the fire has not been determined at this point,” he said. “We’re a long ways from being able to say what started it.”
According to the fire department, the first firefighters on the scene reported heavy fire had ripped through the roof of the building. Almost from the start, they took a defensive strategy before calling a second alarm.
Nine fire trucks, including a ladder truck, and 35 firefighters responded to the fully involved blaze. Additional fire crews from nearby Warren assisted Sterling Heights personnel.
The fire was eventually extinguished. No injuries were reported.
Allen said the investigation into a cause and origin will take some time.
“The whole roof structure collapsed, so we’ll probably remove that (Thursday). So much of the scene was buried under the rubble of the roof,” he said.
Allen said it’s too soon to say whether foul play was involved. Michigan State Police had a K9 unit at the site Wednesday.
The restaurant closed in 2017 and has been vacant since then.
According to Sterling Heights assessing records, the 7,800-square-foot building is valued at about $1.4
million. In 2015, it was sold by Sterling Ponds 2, LLC to Akaashaman, LLC for $3 million, assessing records show.
Akaashaman is a Fremont, Calif. company that is an affiliate of Denny’s franchisee Yadav, which owns several Denny’s, Jack in the Box and Marco’s Pizza stores, mostly in California.