One of my favorite restaurants in Atlantic Beach is now a total loss after a fire on Christmas Eve morning. Atlantic Beach Police responded to a burglar alarm and discovered the building was on fire.
It took 55 firefighters five hours to bring the blaze under control. Investigators say the fire looks suspicious. The SBI is now in charge of the case.
It doesn’t seem that long ago that the El Zarape in Emerald Isle caught fire. I can’t help but ask myself, “Are these guys burning their restaurants to collect insurance money or something?” I mean it strikes me as very odd that you own several restaurants and two of them catch on fire in a pretty close time span.
Anything is possible though, I guess. I imagine they have a few disgruntled employees and one of them may have done this. Either way its a bummer because when I’m in Atlantic Beach, I love to eat at El Zarape.
The one that just burned was my favorite too, because it overlooked the water and some fishing boats. I sure hope the owners are not guilty of any wrongdoing and that they re-open this restaurant in Atlantic Beach.