Parker and Otis 'at least a few weeks' from re-opening

The owner of the downtown gift shop and restaurant Parker and Otis expects at least a few weeks of work will be needed to prepare for the re-opening of the business following the fire there Wednesday night.

Jennings Brody, owner of the restaurant and shop at 112 S. Duke St., said in an emailed statement Monday that a more precise timeline for Parker and Otis’ re-opening is expected in the coming days.

“We are very much looking forward to reopening Parker and Otis in its current Peabody Place location as soon as possible,” Brody said in an email. “We have at least a few weeks of work ahead of us; we expect a more precise timeline in the coming days.”

An investigation into the cause of the fire is still under way, Brody said Monday. A comprehensive plan for repairs and inventory replacement is in the works.

Richard Morgan, the owner of the building that houses Parker and Otis, said the fire was “very localized,” but there was a lot of smoke damage.

“They’re having to clean the whole place,” said Morgan, who also owns Morgan Imports, at 113 S. Gregson St. in a building he said he does not own. “Right now they’re saying three to four weeks.”

The fire was in the middle of the Parker and Otis store, Morgan said. A fixture full of books and papers caught on fire, he said. However, he said there was no structural damage to the building.

“There’s a lot of smoke damage,” he said. “They had a lot of soft goods. The smoke pretty much permeates everything in there.”

Parker and Otis, a restaurant and store that sells breakfast and lunch, gourmet foods, wine and candy, has been open in Durham since 2007, according to Brody’s email. Previously, the location housed the food and wine store Fowler’s.

“Above all else, we are grateful to be a part of the Durham community since 2007 and can't wait to reopen our doors to our friends and neighbors,” Brody said in the email.