'Scary' Electrical Fire in Basement of Tribeca's Benvenuto Cafe

The scene outside Benvenuto Cafe Wednesday afternoon as firefighters in the basement worked to extinguish an electrical fire. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

A Tribeca cafe was back in business Thursday morning after an electrical fire in the basement Wednesday afternoon caused the evacuation of the busy store and the small office building above.

The FDNY reported no injuries.

Firefighters responded to Benvenuto Cafe, at the corner of Greenwich and Franklin streets, around 1:15 p.m. after an electrical box downstairs caught fire. Billy Mallas, the owner, said he “kept it at bay” with a fire extinguisher for about five minutes until firefighters took over. 

“There was an electrical popping,” Mallas said. “It was scary.

It took about 50 minutes to bring the fire under control, the FDNY said.

Twelve units and 60 fire personnel responded to the five-story building at 189 Franklin St. Light smoke could be seen rising from the roof and some smoke came into the cafe, an employee said.

Later in the afternoon, with the fire extinguished, Mallas was outside the building as workers changed out the electrical box and replaced some heavy wiring. He predicted his business would be open the next day for lunch, “worst case dinner,” but by the next morning, Benvenuto, normally open 24 hours, was doing a brisk breakfast business.

“It’s not as bad as I thought,” he said of the basement damage. “Thank God.”