BELMONT, Mass. — A three-alarm fire tore through a popular Belmont ice cream shop on Thursday morning, causing extensive damage to the business.
Dante Muzzioli, owner of Moozy’s Ice Cream, said the shop has been open on Trapelo Road for more than a decade.
Muzzioli told Boston 25 News that he woke up to a call from his worker, Chris Mahoney, saying the store was filled with smoke when he got there around 4:30 a.m.
“First, I thought we just had smoke damage, then it really took off from there, so really shocking,” Muzzioli said.
Mahoney described what he saw when he arrived at the smoke-filled shop, waiting for firefighters.
“When I first pulled up, all the windows were black, and the alarms were going off, and smoke was coming out the top of Moozy’s.” Mahoney continued, “I gave the firefighter the key, and he opened it. As soon as he opened it, all the smoke came billowing out, crazy.”
Belmont Fire Chief David Destefano said first responders found heavy fire in the basement.
“The challenges here are a late-night fire, deep-seated in the basement, difficult to get to,” said Destefano.
With the floor starting to give way, firefighters had to evacuate before it broke through.
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“There are four soft serve machines on top of them, so the fire must have been underneath, I don’t know. And all the machines fell through,” said Mahoney.
Before becoming Moozy’s, the location was a Brigham’s Ice Cream that Muzzioli fixed up.
“It brought me a lot of happiness...Life can be so bad everywhere else but an ice cream store; it’s a cheery place to be,” he said.
His three daughters helped name the ice cream shop. It’s a play on his nickname, Muzzy, and the “moo” of a cow.
“A lot of memories gone. My Mom passed away last year. She was at the grand opening, and you know, things like that come into play right now,” Muzzioli continued, “A little piece of you goes, you know, but we’re fighters. We’ll come back, we’ll come back, and we’ll see if we can put it back together. A little early to talk about that right now cause it’s overwhelming.”
A hair salon, barbershop, jewelry store, and Jacques Tailoring are also part of the building. The tailor is concerned about the prom dresses inside his store, with Belmont’s prom two weeks away.
His hope is that he can get the dresses dry-cleaned, refreshed of any smoke smell, and pressed before they’re needed.
“I’m worried about them more than me. I can survive. But the prom dress is once-in-a-lifetime. That’s it. It can’t happen again,” said Jacques Tailoring owner Vasken Ajoian.
The jewelry store owner is also very concerned about smoke damage inside. They pointed out that pieces like pearls and leather can be affected by the smoke.
No one was injured in the fire. The cause is still under investigation.
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