Fire Destroys Beloved Oakland County Restaurant

A well-known restaurant in Waterford Township, Oakland County, was destroyed by a fire on Thursday morning, May 1.

The Fork n' Pint at 4000 Cass Elizabeth Road, between South Winding and Lakeside drives, was described as a “total loss” by Waterford Township Fire Chief Matthew Nye.

Local 4 News Detroit reported that crews were called to the scene at 5:50 a.m., and they arrived within four minutes of the call.

“They were met with heavy fire in the attic and through the roof,” Nye explained. “They tried to get inside and make an aggressive interior attack to stop it, but they were met with heavy flames and the building started collapsing on them, so they backed up and went defensive.”

Three tower trucks had been dispatched to the scene, but the fire had already consumed the building by the time the trucks arrived. 

Nye added that no one was found inside the restaurant, and no injuries were reported.

Fire officials are still investigating what caused the blaze. 

Local 4 News Detroit spoke with Kristi Campbell of West Bloomfield, who lives close to the restaurant. Campbell said she stopped by the scene when she heard about the fire.

“This has been a Waterford landmark for a long time,” Campbell said. “I had my son's graduation two years ago here. It's sad to see what's going on. I could smell it a little bit from my house, and then the closer I got, I could definitely smell the presence of the smoke, not realizing it was going to be this bad.”

Fork n' Pint posted a statement on Facebook saying the loss is devastating to their restaurant family:

“Right now, our focus is on supporting our employees and those directly affected by this loss. Our team is the heart of Fork n' Pint, and their well-being is our top priority as we begin to process and recover from this tragedy.”