Buffalo community turns out in force at vigil for Old Pink

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo community is in mourning after the loss of an Allentown institution.

“We were a blank canvas that you could paint your life on,” said Eric Van Rysdam, DJ for The Old Pink.

As the sun set on a day without The Old Pink, drinks were lifted and served from the remains of the bar.

“Anyone can come here and find someone like him and that’s rare,” said customer LaRue Heutmaker.

After a fire Monday morning, the building was declared a total loss. The community then came to say goodbye.

“It was a really interesting ecosystem of music and culture and personalities, and it’s something that Buffalo is slowly losing, but to have it taken away — like that, it’s just brutal,” Van Rysdam said.

Everyone had a story.

“We’re a place where a lot of decisions have been made,” Van Rysdam said.

There were incidents of drunkenness.

“I had this little partial denture with two false teeth and it fell out of my mouth and I flushed it down the toilet,” Heutmaker said.

There were also budding love stories.

“We started dating eight years ago and the first time he brought me to Buffalo, he brought me here,” said customer Olivia Chadwick.

The Old Pink’s songs live on – and not just in people’s hearts.

“That’s the best part of it…pick up the asbestos, cherish it,” laughed Liam Kane, another customer at The Old Pink, referring to people salvaging bricks and other pieces from the rubble .

There is no way to replace this place.

“Where are we going to end up now if we don’t have the fans to show up at two or three in the morning?,” Kane asked.

So now it’s just about celebrating the time they had.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.