Fire Saturday heavily damages Princeton pet store, gift shop, bath and body boutique

PRINCETON – Three Princeton business owners are assessing the damage after a fire gutted one store and damaged two others.

A fire Saturday night – thought to have originated under the cash register area of Tanks/Boek-el-Zoo at 628 S. Main St. – caused major losses for store owner Lori Boekeloo, who lost not only the contents of her pet store but also some beloved animals, although most were rescued.

Two adjacent stores, Rachel Rene Bath & Body Boutique and Songbird Gifts, sustained heavy smoke damage but were unoccupied at the time the fire broke out.

Rachel Rene owner Christine Davis said the smoke was so intense when her family arrived at the store that they were unable to enter to remove any of the inventory or salvage anything.

"My heart is broken for Lori at Tanks," Davis said. "Her loss was far greater than mine."

Robin Swift, owner of Songbird Gifts, is evaluating what to do on the wake of a slow winter and the COVID-19-related closure.

"It was a slow January/February for us. The forced closure for 3 months has left us undecided moving forward. Once we hear from our insurance company and coverage for the smoke damage, it will give us a clear answer," Swift said.

"We were in this for short-term, and I can’t reinvest more money into the inventory."