A southwest Detroit Mexican grocery store is set to reopen after a May 11 fire caused considerable damage.
E&L Supermercado at 6000 W. Vernor is set to open at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Mike Fienman, third-generation co-owner, told the Free Press on Thursday, June 18.
On the morning of May 11, the Detroit Fire Department responded to a report of a fire involving shopping carts at the grocery store. E&L’s front entrance and area storing grocery carts suffered severe damage from the fire that was allegedly set intentionally.
Detroit Fire Investigation Division investigators, with assistance from Detroit Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) task force and obtaining video, arrested a person believed to be responsible for the fire on the same day.
According to federal court records, the ATF and the Detroit Arson Task Force are currently conducting a criminal investigation involving federal arson violations.
At the time of the fire, the employees were in the store, ready to open for the day, but instead evacuated. There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire.
The inside of the grocery store suffered damage from water and smoke. Everything inside the store, Fienman said, had to be removed.
“Inside, every square inch has been completely cleaned and repainted,” Fienman said. “We had a lot of good help. There is still a lot of decorating to be done.”
On Thursday, June 18, crews were seen working on the front entrance and façade of the building. Fienman said that soon a temporary banner will hang with the E&L name.
E&L employs about 100 people. Fienman said he continued to pay employees during the store’s closure and cleanup.
“Whatever the average amount of hours worked, that’s what they got paid,” Fienman said.
Employees, Fienman said, also helped with cleanup efforts. Fienman also praised the community and surrounding businesses for their support.
In the community, Fienman said he’s heard restaurants, businesses and vendors are “anxiously awaiting” the store’s reopening.
“We reach customers from 360 cities,” he said, “they come to the store and go to other restaurants and businesses.”
The third generation of the Fienman family owns and operate E&L Supermercado. It was after Edward Fienman returned from World War II in 1945 that he and a partner opened two small grocery stores, according to its website. Fienman parted ways with his partner in 1953 and opened a small store on Vernor and Military. Years later, in 1967, Fienman closed the smaller stores and opened a specialty market specializing in meat and later adding produce. In 1999, the family built the current, larger E&L Supermercado store.
The store is known for its extensive meat counter, which includes a variety of pre-marinated meats and poultry, packaged cuts, and a wide array of Hispanic products.
E&L also offers various prepared foods and is known for fresh produce. When the store reopens on Friday, Fienman said, they will even have their house-made tamales.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SusanMariecooks. Subscribe to the Eat Drink Freep newsletter for insider scoops on food and dining in metro Detroit.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit grocery store set to reopen after significant fire damage
Reporting by Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
