EASTMAN, Ga. — A longtime Eastman landmark is closed for now after a fire ripped through the building Thursday morning.
Now, the owners of the Chic-King restaurant need to figure out what to do next. They've been serving up piping hot fried chicken since 1971. The store that burned down on College Street's been open since 2008.
It was their only store left.
"I was on the way to work, and they called from a manager. She said, 'The kitchen was on fire,'" owner Brannon Lynn said.
That was when Lynn knew what started as a typical day would not be one.
"It's just crazy," he said.
Eastman Fire Chief Scotty Whitten says firefighters showed up around 9:30 a.m. and found the building fully engulfed in flames.
"We had heavy smoke coming from the building on all four sides," Whitten said.
Whitten said it took them about three hours to get things under control. Neighboring fire departments came to help. Even the Dominos across the street carted pizza over for first responders.
"Everyone was here. Everyone was trying to pitch in. And like I said, that's one of the best things about small-town life. We're all in it together," City Manager Spencer Barron said.
The support meant a lot to Lynn for a restaurant that's been a pillar of downtown Eastman for more than 50 years.
"This is the third location we've had in this town since 1971. The community has been great since longer than I've been alive," he said.
Nobody was hurt in the fire.
Whitten says they're still trying to figure out what caused it. They couldn't get in for a while because they wanted to ensure the building was stable.
Lynn believes they'll have to bulldoze the restaurant and completely rebuild.