Merchants on Lower Broadway closed temporarily due to fire

Natalie Neysa Alund | The Tennessean

Merchants in downtown Nashville closed for business on Thursday morning due to a kitchen fire, according to the Nashville Fire Department.

Crews responded to a report of a fire at the business on Lower Broadway off 5th Avenue sometime about 7:30 a.m.

Fire spokesman Joseph Pleasant said the blaze started on the building's third floor.

The owners, Benjamin and Max Goldberg, released a statement Thursday afternoon about the incident:

"This morning there was a small fire on the third floor kitchen caused by a smoker. The fire set off our sprinkler system so now we are busy cleaning all three floors and getting the building back in shape. The good news is, this building has seen much worse than this in the 100-plus-years that its been around, so we’ll be up and running in no time"

The business said it plans to try and reopen for service on June 1.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Good work by our personnel on this fire at Merchants downtown. They will be closed indefinitely as a result. pic.twitter.com/94mlmIOhu3 — Nashville Fire Dept (@NashvilleFD) May 31, 2018

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.