VIDEO/PHOTOS: At least a hundred people are out of work because of a massive fire that ignited on Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City Monday night. Several buildings are a total lossโthat’s according to one business owner on the block who is left with just the pieces of two of his businesses. The prognosis is bleakโJason LeCates, managing partner of the Bourbon Group, which owns Whiskey Street and White Horse, said both businesses are probably total losses and the damage numbers in the millions of dollars. “It’s obviously very devastating to not only lose one business, but to lose two businesses to this fire,” LeCates said. He said he got the call around 8:30 p.m. about some smoke in his businesses. Within an hour, he said that “it was pretty clear that Whiskey Street was going to be a total loss.”
“You know, my gut was that White Horse was also going to be a total loss,” he said. Whiskey Street, with what LeCates said was one of the largest whiskey collections in the world, is now reduced to rubble. White Horse has extensive damage, too. “Built them with my bare hands,” LeCates said, “So much water and smoke damage, it’s probably a total loss as well. We probably have to start over.” However, LeCates said he won’t let this keep them down. “We’re going to do everything we can to get it open as quickly as possible, you know, we have 150 employees that are out of a job instantly this morning, so that’s going to be our first concern is to do what we need to do to make sure they’re protected,” he said.
