Fire crews in Alma, N.B. responded to a fire at Harbour View Market and Restaurant Friday afternoon around 4 p.m.
When crews arrived, the building was completely engulfed in flames. Firefighters stayed on the scene for eight hours attending to the fire.
“There was a lot of dark smoke and you could see the flames inside, and the windows were starting to break out,” said Alma resident Gail Walker.
“This place was full of smoke and eventually we ended up opening a door up so we could try to get in at the fire, but it was too bad by then to really do anything with,” said Alma fire Chief David Rossiter.
The restaurant sits on the main stretch in the small village of Alma and was a popular tourist destination beside Fundy National Park.
Residents say the restaurant will be missed.
“I was born in Fundy National Park and that was in 1938,” said Mac Rossiter, a resident of Alma. “So I can remember the store was here then when I used to come over and it was a big trip to come here those days.”
“It’s an old building,” said fire Chief David Rossiter. “It’s been remodeled so many times that it left a lot of places for fire to hide, that you couldn’t get to.”
Residents say the loss of the restaurant could impact their tourist season.
“We have a lot of tourists come in in the summertime and we probably will need the extra restaurant, so that’s going to be a loss there too,” said Walker.
“Every time you lose something like that, you lose a lot in the village,” said Mac Rossiter.
The owner of the restaurant told CTV that it was closed for the winter months, with plans to reopen again in May. Though it is a devastating loss, the owner says he does plan to rebuild.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
With Files from CTV Atlantic's Laura Lyall
