A small town is coping with the loss of a popular pizza place.

Crews battled a fire at Jimmy’s Pizza for about five hours Tuesday night.

The owners believe an electrical issue may have stripped the community of a long-time staple.

Customers say they’re heartbroken.

“It’s just a shock. It’s a shock to see this,” said Jimmy’s Pizza Customer Jon Benson. 

“You’re just devastated to think that the community is going to suffer a loss like this,” said Jimmy’s Pizza Regular Rhonda Clark.

A fire started at Jimmy’s Pizza around 4:30 p.m.

The popular pizza joint was destroyed.

Customers say people from Wataga and surrounding towns loved the restaurant.

“It was like the bar named Cheers. Everybody went to it, everybody knew who you was, and you just came for good atmosphere and good food,” said Clark.

The owners, Jim and Debra McCormick, say the restaurant has been around for more than two decades, and they love the community as much as the community loves them.

“I think we have a lot of customers that are right now more upset than us. I don’t think it’s really hit us yet, but we’ve had some customers that, like you said, are just devastated. They’ve been coming here once or twice a week for 20 years. Now, you just blink your eyes, and you can’t go there no more,” said Jim McCormick.

The McCormick’s say they got people out of the restaurant quickly, including staff who were trying to put the fire out.

“I mean you can call them staff, but they’re our friends. I mean they’re loyal and family… I mean we have awesome people that get us through each day. Some of them are really hard days, long days,” said Debra McCormick.

Now, they’re trying to figure out how to move forward.

“We’ve never been through it before, but we’ll start the process and hope for the best,” said Jim McCormick.

The owners say they are still working with the state fire marshal and their insurance company, and they are planning to rebuild. 

Galesburg Fire was one of about 10 departments called to help fight the flames. 

Fire crews were still on site after midnight to make sure there were no hot spots.

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