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Topless coffee shop set ablaze
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BY SCOTT MONROE
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 06/04/2009

VASSALBORO -- It was arson.

That has been ruled the cause of an early morning fire Wednesday that destroyed the controversial Grand View Topless Coffee Shop and adjoining apartments where the owner and his family were sleeping.

Investigators with the State Fire Marshal's Office discovered evidence in the building's rubble, leading to the determination Wednesday afternoon that the fire was intentionally set, said Stephen McCausland, of the state Department of Public Safety. Four investigators were assisted by an arson-sniffing dog, he said.

McCausland declined to say what the evidence was but said it was taken to the state crime lab for analysis.

"We are looking for anyone who may have information on this, who might have seen vehicles parked in that general area around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, or anyone walking along the roadway," McCausland said.

McCausland asked that anyone with information about the fire call the state Fire Marshal's arson hotline at (888) 870-6162.

Grand View owner Donald Crabtree said Wednesday afternoon he suspected from the get-go that the fire was set intentionally. He wants to rebuild and reopen the business, possibly setting up temporary quarters in the parking lot.

Crabtree said he did not have the coffee shop property insured, which he admits was a mistake because "I put everything I had into this building and it's pretty much gone." Crabtree said he paid $277,000 for the former motel and restaurant property, and did not owe any debt on it.

"This was my business and my home. Usually you lose one or the other, not everything at once," Crabtree said. "Everything is destroyed; the building's a total loss."

Crabtree said he and six others -- his twin daughters, their boyfriends and their two 4-month-old babies -- lived inside the apartment wing of the property. No one was injured.

The fire was first reported at 12:58 a.m. Wednesday by an ambulance crew from Belfast that was driving down Route 3, said Ken MacMaster of the State Fire Marshal's Office. Crabtree and his family were awakened by the ambulance crew, MacMaster said.

"We're really lucky we all got out alive and really thankful for the ambulance crew stopping and waking us up," Crabtree said.

About 50 firefighters from eight agencies responded to the fire shortly after 1 a.m. and extinguished the flames around 6 a.m., said Vassalboro Fire Chief Eric Rowe.

By Wednesday morning, the main coffee-shop portion of the building was gone -- a collapsed roof on top of burnt and smoldering chunks of wood, insulation and other materials -- and the two adjacent motel wings were standing but uninhabitable because of fire and smoke damage.

Crabtree also said he works as a wholesale lobsterman and lost all of his lobster crates and scales when the fire consumed a garage behind the main building.

MacMaster and Crabtree both said it appeared the fire started in the rear of the building.

Arson is a Class A felony charge, among the most serious charges in Maine, McCausland said. And the fact that seven people were sleeping inside the property at the time the fire was set, "that's disturbing," McCausland said, "and we're fortunate all seven were able to make it out without injury."

The investigation into the arson is being led by the fire marshal's office, assisted by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office and Vassalboro Police Department, McCausland said.

Controversy, attention

The coffee shop was located in a former motel on Route 3 just over the Augusta line. Crabtree opened Grand View on Feb. 23 following several meetings with the Vassalboro Planning Board, which approved a permit for the business despite public objections, saying no town rules prevented it.

Grand View featured topless waitresses and waiters serving coffee and doughnuts, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. As of Wednesday, Crabtree said he employed about 10 people, including waiters and security.

The coffee shop's opening brought worldwide media attention to this rural community with a population of 4,200.

Some critics of the business said it marred Vassalboro's image, while supporters and patrons said if people didn't like it they could just stay away.

At town meeting on Monday, voters will consider an ordinance proposal to regulate where, when and how "sexually oriented businesses" may operate in town. The ordinance was drafted in response to Crabtree's shop, but its rules, if approved, would not have applied to him -- unless he significantly changed the use of the business and needed a new town permit.

On Wednesday, a marquee below the former coffee shop's main sign out front read: "Is America free? Vote no June 8th."

The fire came just four and a half hours after Crabtree had finished a meeting Tuesday night with the Vassalboro Planning Board.

Crabtree outlined proposals to extend the shop's hours of operations to 1 a.m., expand the parking lot for employees and have its waitstaff dancing to the music of a disc jockey. Crabtree had wanted to expand the business into a strip club, but he had scaled back those plans Tuesday night to avoid the need for a new permit.

The timing of the fire has left Crabtree with troubling questions.

"What gets me is, why now? Why not when we opened? Why is the time now? I don't know," Crabtree said.

'A friendly place'

Crabtree went out for a cup of coffee Wednesday morning after nearly eight hours of watching his business and home on Route 3 burn to the ground.

He was greeted in the parking lot by a devoted, and concerned, customer. Vernon Gaudet of Augusta, who said he visits the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop five days a week, asked Crabtree if he and his family were OK and offered to let them sleep at his house. Crabtree said they were fine and that they had already made arrangements at a motel.

Gaudet, who was there with his wife and a female friend, said he was "stunned" and hoped the investigation would find that the fire was caused accidentally. He bristled at the idea that the shop was "torched" by an arsonist, which was not confirmed until several hours later.

"We're hoping it's not people deeming this place to be the evil spawn of whatever," Gaudet said. "I'm hoping deep down in my heart and soul that the coffee machine was left on. I'd like to think people's resentment or treatment of this place wouldn't bring them to ..."

Gaudet said he was stunned and saddened by the loss of the topless coffee shop.

"It's a very friendly place; the atmosphere is just awesome," Gaudet said, saying that he enjoyed hanging out and talking not just with the waitstaff but also other patrons.

Grand View's employees were upset and in shock after learning about the fire, Crabtree said.

Krista McIntyre, 28, of Augusta, worked as a waitress at the coffee shop since it opened and was at the scene since 1:30 Wednesday morning after getting a call from Crabtree. Around 9:30 a.m., she was still trying to absorb what had happened.

"I'm friggin' speechless. I'm just shocked," McIntyre said. "I just bought a car. ... This is what I had to do (for work). I loved it; it's the best job I've had in my life."

McIntyre said the customers were friendly to her and her co-workers, and "every day was different."

"People would come from out of state, everywhere," she said.

Vassalboro Town Manager Mary Sabins said she did not have any specific comment on the blaze, other than, "I feel bad for anyone who has lost property due to fire."

Crabtree said he's considering setting up a double-wide trailer or "Wal-Mart tent" in the parking lot for now. Paul Mitnik, Vassalboro's code enforcement officer, was not working at the Town Office on Wednesday and couldn't be reached for comment on whether such a setup would be allowed under Crabtree's permit.

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com

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