WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — A restaurant in Winter Garden sustained severe damage after a fire broke out Sunday morning, fire rescue crews said.
According to officials, fire crews from Winter Garden and Orange County responded to the Winter Garden Restaurant around 5:00 Sunday morning after receiving reports of fire inside the structure.
The fire actually involved two restaurants in the same building; the Winter Garden Restaurant and the China Panda restaurant, located at Dillard Street and Plant Street.
Crews said they saw flames shooting through the roof and quickly deployed hose lines to fight the fire. Fire officials said once inside, they found an intense fire burning in the kitchen area of the Winter Garden Restaurant.
Fire crews spent nearly two hours fighting the fire before it was fully contained and extinguished.
The Winter Garden Restaurant has been around for decades, and is a popular eatery in the downtown Winter Garden area.
Eyewitness News spoke to the building owner who fears the structure is a total loss.
"I own this building since 1987, so there's a lot of sentimental things to me. It's gone. I don't think you can save anything out of it anyway," explained owner Antonio Goncalves.
The fire chief who was at the scene said the building is not safe for people to go inside, but they're not sure if it will be considered a total loss.
The owner told WFTV both he, and the China Panda restaurant owners have insurance, so at least some of the damage should be covered.
The State Fire Marshal is investing the cause of the fire.