>>Historic Building that Once Housed AAPI Business Collapses in Downtown Suffolk
(Suffolk, VA) -- What appears to be a historic building in Suffolk collapsed and now neigboring buildings are in jeopardy. Rebecca Hughes with the details.Preview: Voicer Script:
Suffolk Fire and Rescue crews arrived to former Horseshoe Cafe building on East Washington Street Sunday night to find the interior of a three story building collapsed in on itself. Officials say the downtown structure suffered extensive damage and left debris on the front sidewalk as well as behind the property. Crews confirmed to WAVY that the building was not occupied but, due to the extent of the damage the adjacent apartments were deemed unsafe, leaving three occupants displaced. Officials are not giving a cause for the collapse at this time. Regina Boone says her grandfather, a native of Japan known to the community as Mike, came to VA as a stowaway aboard a ship from Europe in 1941 and opened The Horse Shoe Cafe in the black part of the segregated community. While the building holds historical AAPI value, the city of Suffolk is working to have the structure demolished.