SAN ANTONIO – Chacho's & Chalucci's, a popular Northeast Side restaurant, will reopen "as soon as possible," according to a manager on-site hours after a fire tore through the eatery.
The fire caused an estimated $100,000 in damage to the restaurant near Perrin Beitel Road and Loop 410.
The restaurant is open 24 hours a day and was still doing business when the fire broke out around 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Firefighters said everyone made it out of the establishment safely.
Firefighters knocked down the flames quickly, but not before fire burned through the roof.
Investigators said it appeared the fire started in a fryer in the kitchen and then spread through the ventilation system to the roof.
David Grant, a regular customer, said he noticed the fire from his motel room across the street.
"I saw flames coming out. I didn't know what was going on," he said. "I came out to Auto Zone and looked across the street and saw all the fire trucks and everything. I couldn't believe what was going."
Grant said the restaurant has become a favorite spot for enjoying tacos with his family.
"I'm mad that it's gone. Hopefully they'll open back up," Grant said.
Employees appeared to be working hard to make that happen, as several were back inside the burned-out business before the sun came up Wednesday.
One woman told KSAT 12 News that they had been brought in from other Chacho's locations to help assess the damage.
It wasn't clear right away what would happen to the workers who were displaced by the fire.
"I know there's a lot of employees that work here," Grant said. "Hopefully they can find jobs because it's a messed up situation."
The manager on-site declined to speak on camera.
She said the goal is to get back to business quickly.