Popular Restaurant Forced To Temporarily Close After New Milford Blaze

NEW MILFORD, CT — A fire on Friday afternoon damaged a mixed-use Church Street building, displacing residents and prompting a Mexican eatery to announce it has to close until repairs can be made.

The two-story, mixed-use building has two apartment units and two commercial units, fire officials said.

Fire officials said everyone made it out safely, and no one was injured. Fire Marshal Kevin Reynolds and Deputy Fire Marshal Ed Pagan were continuing to investigate the cause and origin of the fire as of Monday.

One tenant, Momma’s Tacos, at 17 Church St., announced on its Facebook page that it will be closed until the fire damage is fixed.

“While we are heartbroken by the damage, we are deeply thankful to God that no one was hurt,” the restaurant wrote. “That alone is a blessing we don’t take for granted.”

The restaurant, which launched in 2021, serves a variety of Mexican-style offerings, such as tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas and tortas, according to its website.

“At this time, we don’t know exactly when we’ll be able to reopen, but we are putting our full trust in God to take care of this business, just as He always has,” the Facebook post states.

The other commercial space, a beauty salon at 13 Church St., was also damaged, fire officials said.

Firefighters responded at 3:35 p.m. on Friday to extinguish the blaze, according to fire officials. When they arrived, smoke was emanating from the back of the structure, officials said. Five occupants have been displaced by the fire, and the American Red Cross is assisting them.