Downtown Paris Historic Building Fire
PARIS, Tenn. — A destroyed the interior of Retale History, a landmark building in Paris around 7 p.m. Friday. “The wind was blowing it in this direction and you could smell it, I mean it literally took my breath away,” said Jennifer Williams, owner of Jack’s Java. Most people in the community know the building as the Lewis and Williams Market. Food was made and hand delivered in the community since the early 1900s. President of the Downtown Paris Association, Kathy Ray, says the building stood at the corner of North Poplar Street long before she was born. “We are absolutely devastated anytime there is a loss downtown, that particular location is a historic building,” said Ray. Officials say with 16 firefighters on the scene, it took two hours to put out the blaze. Ray says as long as the building still stands, there is still hope. “We are so sorry for their business and that they had this loss and we hope they will be able to rebuild and stay in our downtown,” explained Ray. Owners near the historic landmark say starting over will be difficult. “The business owners there are super nice so I feel really bad for them,” said Williams.
