WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A well-known Oakland County restaurant was destroyed by a fire on Thursday morning.
The restaurant that caught fire is “Fork n’ Pint” in Waterford Township. It’s located on 4000 Cass Elizabeth Road, which is between South Winding and Lakeside drives.
Fork n’ Pint is a self-described casual restaurant with American food, beer, and cocktails. It also has an outdoor patio area.
Restaurant is ‘total loss’
Waterford Township fire Chief Matthew Nye provided an update at 8:20 a.m. Thursday, May 1, 2025.
He said crews were called to the scene at 5:50 a.m. and arrived within four minutes.
“They were met with heavy fire in the attic and through the roof,” Nye said. “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.”
Fire officials are still working to identify how the fire started.
“This is going to be a long investigation to figure it out,” a fire official said.
Three tower trucks were sent to the scene, but the fire had already engulfed the building.
“Unfortunately, the fire was too well involved, so they had to go defensive, so we’re stuck with a total loss,” Nye said.
No known injuries
Nye said nobody was found inside the restaurant.
“To the best of our knowledge, nobody was in there, so that’s a good thing,” Nye said.
You can watch the full interview with Nye below:
‘This has been a Waterford landmark’
Kristi Campbell, of West Bloomfield, lives right around the corner from the restaurant.
“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.”
Campbell said when she heard about the fire, she came over to see what happened.
“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,” Campbell said.
She said she used to go to the restaurant with her mother.
“I’ve eaten here, and they have great, wonderful food,” Campbell said. “It’s sad to see this staple of Waterford -- obviously it’s gone. It’s sad to see something that’s been here for a long time.”
You can watch the full interview with Campbell below:
