Fire seriously damages popular Orange County restaurant

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The longtime owners of an Orlando restaurant are picking up the pieces after a fire ripped through part of the business early Monday morning.

Firefighters responded to the call after someone who reported seeing smoke coming from the roof of Sharon's Restaurant on South Orange Avenue.

Sharon Sheffey told Channel 9 she woke up to learn her nearly 24-year-old restaurant was up in flames.

"I said, 'Did I forget to shut the deep fryer off?'" said Sheffey. "And of course the propane tank is over there."

According to firefighters, they arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the building. Firefighters said it took 20-30 minutes to get the fire under control and that other nearby businesses in the shopping center suffered smoke and water damage.

"There's some water damage because we had to go and spray the water up in the roof, so of course all the water comes back down. Then we had to pull (the) ceiling," said Chief Dave Janssen with the Orange County Fire Department.

Investigators said an electrical problem likely sparked the fire. They said damage was mostly contained to the attic and ceiling, which Sheffey said she can handle.

"We'll be back bigger and better. I'm not giving up," she said.

Owners told Channel 9 they'll likely be up and running again soon despite not having insurance.

WFTV