SAN ANTONIO — A fire broke out at a northwest-side restaurant, but the San Antonio Fire Department said no one was inside.
The incident happened around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday in the 600 block of West Avenue at Jacala Mexican Restaurant.
The owner, Lucille Hooker, said she has no idea what is next but is just thankful no employees were hurt.
"I'm in shock, to me it’s like a death in the family because my parents started it in 1949, it’s a shock," she said.
Hooker said they've had smaller fires in the past and have rebuilt, but this time it is a total loss.
Crews were seen tearing the restaurant down around 11:45 a.m.
For 22 years, Maria Ellijio was known as Carolina by Jacala restaurant customers. She was at the scene all morning recording the damage and said she was devastated.
"Trabajos hay muchos, pero el sentimiento es amor del restaurante" she said. "There are lots of jobs, but my feelings are for the love of the restaurant."
She worked in the kitchen for a while, then helped as a hostess and said the entire crew was like a family.
Hooker said she received nonstop calls all morning from other restaurant owners asking how they could help.
She said a fellow restaurateur, owner of La Fogata in Silo called early in the morning and offered jobs to all of the employees from Jacala.
"100% of them at 100% of their pay, he said I will take them all, I have room for all of them," Hooker said.
Authorities said they don't know how the fire started, but an investigation is underway. An SAFD spokesperson told KENS5 the cause will likely go undetermined due to the severity of the damage.
Fire crews arrived to the fire coming from the roof, and worked to tackle it offensively.
The restaurant was not open and no injuries have been reported.
While KENS 5 was at the scene gathering details, our team also saw a wrecked vehicle behind a fire truck. Details about that crash have not been reported.
Our crews also witnessed SAFD using a saw to open the door to get inside and further extinguish the flames.
