The only grocery store in a small northern Minnesota town burned down early Tuesday, WCCO reported.
The Ely Echo reported that Zup's Food Market in Cook, a town of 574 residents located about 90 miles north of Duluth, was destroyed by fire Monday night.
According to the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office, the structure fire was reported at 8:47 p.m. by a caller who said smoke and flames were coming from the back of the building, KDLH reported.
Cook residents will wake up this morning to the loss of their only grocery store after a fire at Zup’s Food Market. Area fire departments battled the blaze that broke out around 8:47 p.m. No one was in the store at the time of the fire and no injuries have been reported.
— Ely Echo (@elyecho) November 13, 2018
No one was in the grocery store at the time of the fire, and there are no reports of injuries to firefighters, WCCO reported. The fire was under control by Tuesday morning but the structure was damaged beyond repair, the television station reported.
Zup's is a family-owned grocery chain that opened its first store in Ely in 1916, according to the Timberjay. It was founded by John Zupancich, according to the company's website. In addition to Cook and Ely, there are Zup's Food Markets in, Babbitt, Tower and Silver Bay, the Timberjay reported.
Cox Media Group