NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — A fury of flames destroyed two popular New Braunfels restaurants in a matter of weeks.
The latest fire happened Monday night at ‘Cancun Mexican Restaurant.’ The other fire happened at the end of October at ‘Old River City Cafe.’ The investigations are underway for both fires. New Braunfels Fire Chief Ruy Lozano told KENS 5 the fires are not connected, but said there are similarities.
Lozano talked about his crews showing up to the fire at Cancun off South Seguin Avenue after 11:30 Monday night. He said the roof collapsed and they had to bring in an excavator to help fight the fire.
“You can see the fire really took over the structure and made it unsafe for us,” he said. “After a roof collapse you don’t want to put any more firefighters inside."
Lozano’s crews have been busy, lately. On October 30, Old River City Cafe on FM 725 caught fire. The flames showed no mercy. He said a quick-thinking call from an incident commander saved the lives of firefighters.
“He called for an evacuation,” he said. “After two minutes of getting all the firefighters out, it collapsed. We are very fortunate.”
For both restaurants, Lozano said the fire appears to have started in or near the kitchen.
“Right now, we have no reason to believe they are suspicious or that they are connected,” he said.
Meanwhile on Tuesday night, the New Braunfels community showed up at Krause's Cafe for a fundraiser benefiting the owner and staff of Old River City Cafe. Shari Segalle is the owner of the restaurant, which was founded in 1995, according to the eatery’s website.
“It was a building,” Segalle said. “Still got the heartbeat. The heartbeat is still going. It is amazing.”
Segalle referring to the community as the heartbeat. She said her customers are family. Right now, she is also feeling for the owners of Cancun Mexican Restaurant. She knows what they are going through right now.
“It is hard a thing,” she said. “So hard. My support and prayers are going out to them.”
In the meantime, Segalle is leaning on the town’s support and her faith to move forward.
“It is going to be okay,” the owner said. “It is going to be okay. I don’t know what my future holds. But I know who holds my future.”
As for the future of Old River City Cafe, Segalle said there is a possibility to rebuild. The current building is not salvageable. She does have a catering aspect to her business which is helping as well.
Chief Lozano told KENS 5 the exact cause of the fires may be hard to determine, since both buildings were badly damaged. He said the investigations will remain open just in case any new information comes to light.