Ginger's Fast Food lost to fire

A struggling businessman lost what is said to be his only means of income. Ginger’s Fast Food went up in flames in the wee hours of Thursday, leaving Eric “Ginger” Charles’ livelihood in limbo.
Christine Barnes, the mother of Charles’ children, told OBSERVER media that the 65-year-old man operated the restaurant at lower All Saint Road until last week when he secured the place before leaving. But late Wednesday night into the next morning, a fire consumed the wooden structure, just outside the St John’s Craft Market.
“Somebody called us after [midnight] and said the place was on fire. It’s not going to be easy for him because he has not worked constantly for some months now, but he would go there from time to time,” Barnes said.
The St John’s Fire Department answered the call and battled the blaze for over an hour. Investigators told this newsroom that up to press time the cause or origin of the fire was not known. Barnes said, taking into consideration his age, she is not sure what Charles will do now after operating the eatery for about 20 years.
“He was trying to get a job with government on the road programme, but that has not started as yet. The shop gone. The vehicle in the yard is not even working,” she added.
In August 2016, the businessman was convicted for a second time for siphoning electricity from the power company. Charles pleaded guilty and was fined $3,000 for extracting and diverting power from the grid by attaching a cable to the utility pole to power equipment at his cook shop. At the time of the blaze, Charles’ shop was connected to APUA’s grid.
On the first conviction, the St John’s Magistrates’ Court said Charles was shown leniency because of his age. He was 61 at the time.