Clay County Fire Rescue personnel were dispatched Wednesday night to a fire at the popular Grumpy’s Restaurant in Middleburg.
No injuries were reported. Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook posted on Facebook about the fire:
“Please keep Dell and Courtney in your prayers tonight. We all know how hard they work to keep this great place going,” Cook said in a post on Facebook.
Courtney Smith is Grumpy’s general manager. Dell Hoard is the owner of the Grumpy’s in Middleburg.
After the fire, News4JAX spoke with Daniel DeLeon, president and CEO of Grumpy’s. He said the staff plan to have a meeting Thursday at the Sheriff’s Office.
“Our franchisees here, Del Hoard and the family, I mean, they’re obviously devastated. This is their baby, they’re here every day. You know, this is our first franchise store.” DeLeon said. “We’re gonna have to hit the ground running, get this bad boy back open.”
Update 8:53PM- firefighters have controlled a commercial structure fire at 1805 Blanding Blvd. Crews are clearing out the smoke now. The electric company is on scene and the State Fire Marshal is in route. No injuries reported. pic.twitter.com/kFj73ie6O4
— Clay County Fire Rescue (@ClayFireRescue) January 20, 2022
Firefighters said they were called to the scene at about 7:50 p.m. When they arrived, they saw heavy smoke and fire from the rear of the building.
There was heavy damage done to the building, investigators said. The fire is believed to have started in the kitchen.
At 8:53 p.m., Clay County Fire Rescue said the fire had been brought under control and crews were clearing out smoke.
The state fire marshal will investigate the cause, but first responders said they didn’t notice anything suspicious. No one was inside the restaurant at the time of the fire.