Mulligan’s Brick Bar demolition to resume Thursday following fire

Demolition resumed Thursday morning at Mulligan’s Brick Bar in Buffalo’s Allentown neighborhood after crews began tearing down the structure on Wednesday, but had to halt work due to equipment failure.

Residents near Buffalo’s Allen Street woke up to smoke and the lights of emergency vehicles for the second time in six months as another legendary bar went up in flames on Sunday morning. Buffalo firefighters were called to Mulligan’s Brick Bar at 229 Allen Street shortly after 4 a.m., according to WGRZ.

Mulligans neighbor, legendary dive bar, The Old Pink, was set ablaze and was burned beyond repair. John W. Burns was charged with arson in that case. Burns remains in a residential treatment facility while he awaits trial in federal court.

Brick Bar is the second bar that has been destroyed by fire in the Allentown neighborhood in less than a year. Its next-door neighbor, The Old Pink was destroyed by a fire on June 17, 2024. The Buffalo man accused of setting fire to that building, John Burns of Buffalo, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on arson and attempted arson charges.

The demolition of Mulligan’s Brick Bar in Buffalo’s Allentown neighborhood was brought to a standstill by mechanical issues just a few hours after work began.

Just days after a devastating fire destroyed the historic 1897 building that housed Mulligan’s Brick Bar in the city’s Allentown neighborhood, demolition of the structure began Wednesday morning. Read