A fire consumed a local family’s building south of the Square early Saturday morning. Almost a month after the devastating Mini Mall fire, more local businesses have been devastatingly impacted.

The building was home to the Nu-Art Printing Co. and the Bellissima Spa & Salon as well as an apartment above the building itself.

The family living inside the apartment got out just in time with their toddler. 

“We were asleep. We woke up to a foot long crack in our ceiling with smoke and fire coming out. You could see the flames coming out of it, so we hurried and grabbed our son as fast as we could,” said apartment resident Tray Jackson.

Mike Woodson has current ownership of the building, and his family has owned and operated the Nu-Art Printing Co. for 60 years. The Woodson family says there were two fires, one which started Friday morning in the apartment on the roof, and another at 3 a.m. Saturday. They said the fire department put out and controlled the first fire.

“We were all here working on Friday and everything was fine in the building,” said Tina Seal, business partner at Bellissima Spa & Salon.

The family believes the fire on Saturday morning may have started from “hot spots” left over from the original fire. 

According to fire department spokesman Kenneth Hedges, there were two fire crews at the first fire, and they used thermal imaging equipment to check for other areas of fire in the building but found none. "An officer was stationed at the business for six hours after the fire. The first fire was just a smolder that started in the electrical and the second was a full on blaze," said Hedges

The Nu-Art Printing Co. has been part of the Woodson family for more than five generations with multiple family members working for the business.

The Woodsons have established a large amount of customers in Denton, but the business is no longer open. With all the fire damage, they are afraid their customers will seek other places to go for business.

“Our equipment is ruined … we had a lot of jobs in here … we did salvage a couple of things … but it doesn’t look too promising,” Woodson said.

Woodson said with the building being a "total loss," the family is unsure if they will reopen or even rebuild.

“It’s pretty devastating after all these years,” Woodson said.

Photos by Riley Stephens
Video by Brenda Hernandez
Header image layour design by Christopher Rodgers.