Fire temporarily closes popular Winter Haven restaurant

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - A staple of the restaurant scene in Winter Haven is closed after a fire tore through the building.

On Monday afternoon, Dwayne McQuillen says he was doing paperwork inside his restaurant, Harry's Old Place, when he heard noises, smelled smoke, and found flames behind the bar.

"Grabbed the fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. That didn't work. Came outside and caught my breath. Went back inside. Got another extinguisher. Tried two different times to get it out. It was already too far gone for me to get it," said McQuillen.

McQuillen called 911 and within a few minutes Polk County Fire Rescue put out the flames. Firefighters believe the cause may have been electrical.

Though there's smoke and water damage inside, McQuillen says it's all superficial and the structure is intact.

"Very fortunate it happened when we're not open, so no one was in the building. Nobody got hurt. It could've been a lot worse. If I wasn't around yesterday or it went on for another 10 or 15 minutes, it could've been really bad."

READ: 8 dead, dozens injured in crash involving bus carrying farmworkers in Marion County: FHP

The community can show their support by going to McQuillen and his partners' other three restaurants in the area.

"Crazy Fish, Break Burger Garage, Locorrito," he said. "All in Lake Wales,"

Mcquillen hopes to be closed just for a few weeks, but that depends on permitting and drawing.

SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter

WATCH FOX 13 NEWS