Iconic Lacey Restaurant Battered By Morning Blaze

LACEY TOWNSHIP, NJ - Multiple area fire companies responded to a fire that raged at Caffrey's Tavern for more than three hours this morning, authorities said.

Route 9 near Lakeside Drive in Lacey was shut down earlier due to a "large fire," according to a Nixle alert from the Ocean County Sheriff's Department. But the roadway has since been reopened.

Mayor Nicholas Juliano told app.com he rushed to the restaurant after his wife told him about the fire. He watched as fire crews battled the blaze from the roof of the building.

“It’s an iconic place. Everybody goes to it,” said Juliano. “It's been there forever. It supplied all the food for when they were building the (Oyster Creek) power plant, too. It goes back a long way. There’s a lot of history there.”

No injuries have been reported so far, according to the Ocean County Sheriff's Department.

The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office will assist in the investigation, but it's still too hot to approach the building, spokesman Al Della Fave said.

Patch will update as soon as more information is available.

Photos: Courtesy of Elle Regan, aerial photo courtesy of Scott Dacus