Fire gives customers a chance at bargains

Landau’s woolen goods store finds itself with many racks of smoked lamb.

By: Jennifer Potash
   Landau’s woolen goods store on Nassau Street invites the public to come in Thursday for a rack of smoked lamb — well, actually smoked lambswool scarves, sweaters and blankets.
   The store’s stock was exposed to smoke Thursday following a small fire at the back of the building. Now Landau’s will sell off its entire inventory in a "Little Fire, Big Smoke Sale."
   Landau’s, which closed following the fire, will reopen Thursday.
   While there’s nothing funny about having to liquidate the store’s entire stock, Robert Landau is keeping a sense of humor about the situation.
   When asked about the condition of Lindy, the well-known stuffed sheep often used in the store’s advertising, Mr. Landau quipped the sheep was now a "smoked ram."
   The fire was caused by an attempt to avoid flooding, Mr. Landau said.
   With the pending weekend rainstorm, building owner Stanley Dohm sought to clear out the ice-filled gutters with a torch Thursday afternoon, Mr. Landau explained.
   Mr. Landau said Mr. Dohm was very cautious in trying to melt the ice, constantly checking the gutter to ensure it didn’t become too hot.
   But the torch ignited a fire inside an exterior wall spanning the basement and first floor of the building, said William Drake, Princeton Borough’s fire inspector.
   The wall was hollow so the fire and smoke could easily travel between the floors, he said.
   At the time of the fire, Henry Landau, Mr. Landau’s brother and co-owner of the store, was in the office and smelled smoke, Robert Landau said.
   When Henry Landau opened a basement door and smoke poured out, he evacuated the store and called the fire department.
   A small fire was ignited inside a wall and smoke poured out from a false ceiling in the store, Mr. Landau said. There was no smoke detector in the false ceiling, unlike other parts of the store, he said.
   Mr. Landau praised the Princeton Fire Department for a quick response and for extinguishing the fire without major damage to the building.
   "You never fully appreciate the fire department until something like this happens," he said. "Without them, we wouldn’t be reopening in a week, we’d be out for at least two years."
   The minor damage, some holes in the wall and charred ceiling, will be repaired this week, Mr. Landau said.
   Based on an initial examination on Thursday, it seems all the store would need was a good airing out, but additional investigation revealed all the clothing and other textiles required cleaning, Mr. Landau said.
   Just cleaning up the inventory and selling at the regular price was never an option, Mr. Landau said.
   "For years and years and years, we’ve had a reputation for quality and there’s no way we can say this is quality condition," Mr. Landau said. "Someone who buys a cashmere coat from us is not going to appreciate hearing from a friend two weeks later, ‘I didn’t know you smoked.’ "
   The store reached a settlement with its insurance company to sell all the stock at very reduced prices and then fill the store with the spring merchandise, Mr. Landau said.
   Some of the woolens will need to be dry cleaned while other merchandise, such as a cotton sweatshirt, can be thrown in a washing machine, Mr. Landau said.
   Over the years, Landau’s has become an ad hoc museum devoted to renowned physicist Albert Einstein, who spent the last years of his life in Princeton Borough. The exhibit, located at the back of the store, was undamaged, Mr. Landau said.