MORRIS COUNTY

Del's Novelty owner 'devastated' after Morristown fire destroys store

William Westhoven

@WWesthoven

Phil Del Giudice, standing less than 50 feet from the charred ruins of his family business on a cold, sunny Saturday morning, shook his head and looked down at the icy ground.

Owner of Del's, Phil Del Giudice, center, is comforted by his sons Danny and Matthew in front of Del Giudice's store in a building they've owned since 1949. A late night fire destroyed a number of businesses on Elm Street in Morristown. January 31, 2015.

Del's Novelty and Party Supply, a fixture on Morristown's Elm Street retail scene for 66 years, was one of several businesses and apartments destroyed just 12 hours earlier. No one was injured, but the strip of brick buildings was a total loss.

"I am half in shock at this point," said Del Giudice, with his wife and sons at his side. "Honestly, I can't wrap my arms around this. I just can't believe it."

Del Giudice said he received a call from the fire department shortly after 11 p.m. that the fire alarm had gone off at his business. By the time he arrived, firefighters were already battling the smoky blaze, fueled by gusty winds ripping through a bitter-cold night.

"I got here and there was all this smoke," he said. "It was bedlam."

Kathy Del Giudice, whose husband own Del's, is helped over the ice by a Morristown patrolman at the fire scene that destroyed a number of businesses and apartments on Elm Street in Morristown. January 31, 2015.

He still does not know what happened, or in which building the fire began. Fire officials have yet to announce a cause of the fire, which also displaced about 25 residents on the second floor.

MAIN STORY: Morristown fire causes heavy damage to stores, 25 people displaced http://dailyre.co/1CKXsJQ

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Del Giudice said his father started the business in 1949. Proudly claiming on its website to be "The Supermarket of Party Stores," Del's sold gag and trick items, costumes, party favors, casino-night supplies and more, catering to individual customers as well as schools, groups and businesses.

Del Giudice told the Daily Record in a 2007 business feature that the business started in Mine Hill and moved to Morristown in 1949 as Del's Market.

"My father, Jack, was the butcher, and his uncle Jim ran the front end along with another Uncle Joe," Del Giudice said in 2007. "They rented the space from Russ Green, who owned a carnival supply business next door in the same building. Eventually, Jack and Jim purchased the property lock, stock and barrel from Green. That included the carnival business. For some time, they operated both businesses. From that, Del's Market evolved into Del's Novelty, and we've been there ever since."

Saturday morning, Del Giudice did not know where the next chapter of his family business would begin.

"Obviously this is devastating, it was a total loss," Del Giudice said. "I don't know what can be done with the building. The building is all caved in from the roof down. They won't let me in because it's structurally unsound."

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-428-6627; wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com.

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