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A fire in the rear garage of Lucharitos in Center Moriches Saturday night damaged electrical wires powering a food truck, causing the popular taco pit stop to close indefinitely.
Owner Marc LaMaina said he got the call at around 10 p.m. The Center Moriches Fire Department was able to contain the fire to only one building and there was no structural damage. There were no injuries.
“There’s no one to blame. It was just an accident,” LaMaina said Sunday at the Center Moriches location that he has been trying to open for more than a year.
The incident came as LaMaina said he hopes to soon get final Town of Brookhaven approvals to renovate the restaurant’s main building.
“We expect to be closed for a couple of weeks,” said LaMaina, who taped a hand-written note on a secondary building stating: “Closed due to fire (in garage). So sorry. Re open asap! — Marc.”
LaMaina said he will begin working on the renovations to the main building when given the go-ahead while fixing up the building that caught fire.
While Center Moriches opening may have been delayed, LaMaina said he plans to open new locations with new partner Kevin Mannix.
Thus far, a Mattituck location next to the Mattituck Cinemas is expected to open in about 45 days, while another spot in the Melville Mall next to Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace is slated to open in about six months.
Regarding the Center Moriches location, LaMaina said, “It’s fixable. It’s all fixable.”
