Fish and blues restaurant destroyed in an early morning fire

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- An early morning fire destroys a Lowndes County restaurant.

Fish and Blues went up in flames around 2 a.m Friday.

The building is gutted after the fire spread to the ceiling.

Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Despite the firefighters’ best efforts, the building is a total loss.

” Right now, it’s very hard,” said Barbara Johnson.

Lost memories and a building up in flames.

Four walls that once held a Lowndes County favorite are covered in soot.

” All the hard work we put into it, driving up, it’s just sad,” said Tavron Johnson.

Owners Tavron and Barbara Johnson opened their business only five years ago, but it quickly became well-known in the community.

” I started out catering, and people wanted more of the food, so that’s why I opened Fish and Blues. We started in 2016,” said Johnson.

” My heart is really hurting right now because my son put a lot of work into this restaurant, and we woke up this morning at two o’clock and saw all of this going on,” said Johnson.

Lowndes County District 3 Fire Chief Wayne Doyle tells us firefighters used 37,000 gallons of water to extinguish the blaze.

“The building was pretty well involved when we got here. It was already a total loss. It was built back in 1936, and due to the construction that was in it with the ceiling and the roof collapsing on it, it was impossible to put it out,” said Doyle.

The incident remains under investigation.

” There’s a cause. We don’t know what it is. It was too far gone to get in there and investigate it this morning. We know where it started but can’t tell what started it,” said Doyle.

It’s not the loss of a foundation. It’s the gratitude of getting through this time together.

” It’s just a blessing to be here and be alive. My son and my granddaughter were here last night, so it’s just a blessing that we still here. My mind is telling me we have better and bigger things in the plan for us,” said Johnson.

Zachary’s Restaurant in Columbus is organizing a donation benefit to help the Fish and Blues family with rebuilding costs. For more information, click here.