Man, this is like 2 miles from my house. It sucks, the building is a total loss.
From the Austin American-Statesman
http://www.statesman.com/news/conten.../31chilis.html
Morning fire destroys Chili's restaurant in South Austin
Damages up to $1.5 million, but no cause has been determined.
By Isadora Vail
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, December 31, 2006
A fire destroyed a Chili's restaurant in South Austin on Saturday morning, leaving dozens of employees displaced.
Firefighters said they were called to the restaurant at Stassney Lane and South Interstate 35 about 5:30 a.m.
The building was empty at the time; employees said the restaurant does not serve breakfast and was scheduled to open for lunch about 10:45 a.m. Saturday.
The cause of the blaze could not be determined immediately as investigators prepared to sift through the massive amount of debris inside the burned-out restaurant. The ceiling had collapsed.
The fire took nearly five hours to extinguish because intense heat and smoke prevented firefighters from entering the building.
Don Smith, a spokesman with the Austin Fire Department, said the building was a total loss, with damages of about $1.5 million.
Wait staff from Chili's gathered in front of the building shortly after the fire was put out. They said about 100 people worked at the restaurant. The employees declined to give their names because of the corporation's rules about speaking to the media.
"We will get to work at Chili's in the surrounding areas, but our big thing is that the people will be separated," said a waiter who had worked at the Chili's on Stassney for three years. "The managers have really helped us out a lot. Their primary concern is us, not the store."
A waitress said the restaurant was like her second home and her fellow staff members like family.
"Our home is gone, and our family is displaced. We are devastated," she said.
A restaurant manager at the scene of the fire declined to comment.
Kelly West
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
The fire at the Chili's restaurant on Stassney Lane near Interstate 35 started before 5:30 a.m. and took nearly five hours to extinguish because intense heat and smoke prevented firefighters from entering the building.