Authorities said all nearby businesses were closed when the fire broke out near Holland Road and Lynnhaven Parkway.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Warning signs and blue tarps surrounded a commercial building on Holland Road in Virginia Beach on Tuesday, and despite fire damage, the store remains open for business.
“We are not going to stop, pause or slow down. We are moving forward stronger than ever,” Cavel Molyneaux said.
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Molineaux is a broker and owner of Onyx Realty Professionals, and he said he got a call around 6:30 Monday morning reporting that his business at the corner of Holland Road and Lynnhaven Parkway was on fire.
By the time he got there, there was extensive damage throughout the building.
“About 90 percent of the entire structure is affected by smoke, water and fire damage,” Molyneaux said. “We’re thankful we got out, but it could have been a lot worse.”
Virginia Beach business catches fire
Firefighters had the blaze under control by 7:10 a.m.
The store owners are combing through the remains of the building to salvage what they can, but Molyneaux said the store is not closing.
Instead, he switched his roughly 100 employees to remote work.
“The building itself and what we lost is not frightening to us because that’s our specialty, so we know we can rebuild it as good as new and better,” Molyneaux said.
In the meantime, employees can work in the event space building, which is much less affected by the fire than the main building, Molineaux said.
A Virginia Beach firefighter suffered a minor leg injury during the response, and a fire department spokesman said the firefighter has since been treated and released from the hospital.
Molineaux said he would like the honor and donations to go to the Virginia Beach Fire Department Foundation.
“I want to focus on the fact that we all got out safely. That’s not always the case,” Molyneaux said.
The cause of the fire and its exact location are still under investigation.
It is unclear how long the restructuring process for all the affected companies will take.
