Binghamton Pizza Shop Still Closed After Demolition

A downtown Binghamton pizza restaurant may not be able to reopen for weeks following a demolition project.

Nirchi's Pizza at 166 Water Street remains closed because of safety concerns. The building housing the restaurant is just north of the Ellis Brothers furniture store which was destroyed by an April 30 fire.

The pizza shop opened a week after the blaze. But the business had to close again when engineers determined the fire-damaged building had to be torn down.

Engineers are assessing the stability of a wall in the pizza shop building. They're working to determine whether it will need to be reinforced.

Calls for the Water Street Nirchi's restaurant are being answered at the Nirchi's Pizza shop on Main Street. Gary Hutchings, the manager of that location, says it's not known exactly when the Water Street site can resume operations. He says the latest estimate is in about two weeks.

David Lebous, the owner of the Water Street building, told WNBF News he hopes the pizza shop can reopen as soon as possible but he was unable to say when that might occur.