A community is in shock after fire destroys a popular restaurant.
The fire broke out just after 12:30 Sunday afternoon at the Thirsty Camel Supper Club near Conesville and was called in by a passerby. Now the business is a total loss, and the community is wondering how they're going to recover from the loss.
"We lost most of the building, most of the stuff inside," says Chase Deese, Head Cook at the Thirsty Camel.
Deese's family had just taken over the restaurant back in March. This afternoon, they watched their hopes and dreams literally go up in smoke.
"I'm just devastated at what's going on today," Chase says. "It's really killing me inside."
The fire started in the attic and spread quickly. Firefighters from several departments were helpless against the conditions.
"With the cave in right in the middle above the bar and with the wind going, they really couldn't get in there to put it out," Chase says.
After several hours, they were finally able to do just that. Now Chase's family and this rural Louisa County community find themselves wondering what's next.
Local business owners say this is a loss that's going to be felt locally for a long time to come.
"There's a couple other restaurants but everything's like 15-20 miles, so nothing's very close," says Mary Brune, owner of Rumors and Excuses in nearby Columbus Junction. "They were nice and close here to Columbus Junction, so it was a nice place to come."
Chase says his family had insurance on everything inside the building, but not the structure itself since they were leasing it. His neighbors say they're going to pitch in to help his family and their 20 employees get back on their feet.
"We're out here trying to help. We brought food out to try and feed people," Brune says. "They need us to clean up. We'll do whatever we can to help them. We're hoping they can rebuild so that the employees can still have another job. We'd love to have the restaurant back out here."
The Deeses plan on rebuilding on the site as soon as all the paperwork gets straightened out.
