ELWOOD – The owners of a downtown Elwood restaurant and bar that was damaged in a mid-morning fire say they plan to rebuild their business.
Lori Thompson – who along with her sister, Sharon Thompson, and mother, Kay Thompson, run Thompson's Bar & Grill, 115 E. Mississippi Ave. – said the family plans to remodel once they determine the extent of the damage.
Witnesses reported seeing smoke wafting from the roof of the one-story wood and stone building about 10 a.m. Wednesday.
"We saw some smoke coming out of the roof and while we called 911, it was just engulfed in flame," said Matt Masood, manager of Sunshine Food, a market across the street from Thompson's. "And then the smoke just billowed out in a big black cloud. ... It happened so quickly."
Firefighters from Elwood Fire Department – as well as fire units from Coal City, Morris, Minooka, Plainfield, Wilmington, Troy, Lockport and East Joliet – battled the blaze for about 35 minutes before getting it under control, Elwood Fire Chief Bill Offerman said.
Offerman said firefighters also were concerned about keeping the fire from spreading to nearby buildings to the east.
Police closed off Mississippi Avenue, the village's main street, for much of morning while firefighters were on the scene.
No one was reported injured in the fire, and damage was restricted to the Thompson building.
Lori Thompson said she believed the building's shell was still intact, though the roof would need to be replaced. Firefighters still had the building cordoned off Wednesday morning, so she had not viewed the interior.
The Thompsons have operated the business for the last 2 1/2 years.
Lori Thompson said she was driving to Loyola University Medical Center to visit her mother, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, when her sister called her about the fire.
"It's been a terrible week," she said.