Family starting new after Stasny’s Market fire; owner unsure

April 30--On a recent morning, Jim Stasny saw Eva Tietz sitting on a neighbor's steps. Tietz and her family had rented the apartment above Stasny's Food Market, which was destroyed by fire April 14.

"Not thinking, I said 'Eva, where's your coat?' and she said 'I don't have one,' " Stasny said. "That's when it hit me."

Tietz, her fiance Tim Schmugge and Tietz's two teenage children lost all their belongings when the North End institution caught fire. The blaze damaged the building so badly that fire officials couldn't determine its origin. The fire also caused the death of butcher Stu Gerr, whose widow believes he might have been asleep in the basement when the fire broke out.

On Saturday, friends and neighbors held a fundraiser for Teitz, Schmugge and Tietz's children. Tin Cup's Bar in North End sold raffle tickets and $2 tacos to raise money for the family.

The family's insurance company "isn't making it easy for us," Schmugge said Saturday. It has given the family until May 31 to find a new place to live. Schmugge said he and Tietz have been looking but haven't found anything yet.

"I guess I'll get concerned when it gets down to the wire," Schmugge said. "Right now, I'm trying to remain optimistic."

Tietz and Schmugge, whom Stasny called "problem-free renters," had lived above Stasny's for 12 years.

"It was definitely our home," Schmugge said.

A GoFundMe account has been established for the family. As of Saturday, it had raised $1,955 toward a goal of $5,000.

On Saturday, Stasny said he hasn't decided whether he will rebuild the neighborhood grocery store his grandfather started 94 years ago.

"We're looking at all our options," he said. "We haven't even sat down with the insurance company yet. We haven't even met with anyone from the city. We're just kind of wait-and-see right now. It's in my blood, so it's in my intentions to rebuild, but we haven't gotten that far."

A fund also has been started for Gerr's family. Gerr had a devoted following. Customers followed him to Stasny's, which he joined in 2012, after his previous workplace, Capitol City Meats, closed. Gerr was known for remembering which cuts of meat customers liked and made sure to prepare and stock choices other stores didn't have. As of Saturday, the fund for Gerr had raised $6,694 of its $10,000 goal.

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