WOODFIN, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A fire early Thursday destroyed the High Five Coffee building behind The Mill at Riverside, and police say a suspect was arrested after a brief foot chase.
According to the Woodfin Police Department, officers and fire crews were called around 1 a.m. to a structure fire near the French Broad River in the rear parking lot of the mixed-use development.
Firefighters quickly responded and worked to contain the blaze, but the coffee shop building was declared a total loss. No injuries were reported.
Investigators used video surveillance to identify a suspect, police said. Officers later arrested Nicholas Hunter Grigsby, of Valley Park Drive, following a brief foot chase.
Grigsby is charged with felony burning of a commercial building and violating a domestic violence protective order. He is being held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility under a $100,000 bond. Police said additional charges are expected.
Town officials said the loss is especially difficult because High Five Coffee had recently reopened following the impacts of Tropical Storm Helene and had become a gathering place once again for residents, commuters and visitors.
“The Town of Woodfin is saddened by the loss of this Woodfin treasure and will do everything we can to support the owners and operators of High Five,” the department said in a statement.