GALLERY: Fire destroys Anamosa restaurant

UPDATE: The Iowa fire marshal's office will investigate the cause of a devastating restaurant fire in Anamosa this morning.

The McOtto's restaurant at Highway 151 and Highway 64 was a total loss after a fire.

Anamosa volunteer fire chief Jeff Swisher said the first reports noted thick black smoke in the area at around 4:45 a.m. The first firefighters on the scene moments later found flames shooting through the roof.

Firefighters tried to enter the restaurant's kitchen, but the fire was too intense, and they had to remain outside.

Restaurant owner John Danneman said that the restaurant was built in 1984 and has been an Anamosa landmark for about 25 years.

Danneman said he employed about a dozen full-time workers and a number of part-time employees.

His intention now is to rebuild.

Danneman also owns Happy Joe's franchises in Monticello, Cascade and Coralville. He has had other bad luck with disasters in recent years, as an Iowa City restaurant was destroyed by a tornado and a replacement restaurant in Coralville went under in the 2008 floods.

Investigators have no idea at the moment how the fire started. The last workers would have left shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday.

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