ARLINGTON, Texas — The owners of a popular Caribbean restaurant in Arlington say they plan to rebuild the venue after it burned in a 3-alarm fire Tuesday.
The Arlington Fire Department fought the flames at One Love Caribbean Restaurant and Lounge for nearly six hours. No one was injured, but the building was destroyed.
One Love is the largest Caribbean Restaurant in the metroplex, owner Billy Kissoon said. It'd become an important cultural beacon.
"We enjoyed sharing our flavors and our culture with people who don't know about it," he told WFAA Wednesday. "It was a people's place. To me, I used to call it the Black version of Cheers."
It's not yet clear how the fire started. Kissoon said an employee locked up the building and left at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, an hour before the fire began.
At some point during the firefight, the building's roof collapsed. Firefighters deemed the remaining walls unsafe and demolished them, they said.
"They're material things that can be rebuilt," Kissoon said. "Memories are kind of hard to rebuild."
He said he did not know how meaningful his restaurant was to its patrons until it burned. Some visited the debris pile Wednesday.
"To have something like, literally, in your own backyard that has your culture, your food, and that spirit - everything you grew up with... it means a lot," said Shian Rochester, who provided security at the venue. "It's still a lot to take in."
One item survived the heat: a sort of memorial to a regular patron who died in a car wreck.
"One of his catchphrases, every time he came in, was, 'Welcome to one love and have a good night,'" Rochester said.
The slogan was painted on the restaurant wall. It was mostly unaffected by the fire.
"For that catchphrase to still be standing - it has to mean something," Rochester said.
The mural will be a part of One Love's second act.
"Every single text and call I get is, 'When are you rebuilding?' not if you are rebuilding," Kissoon said, adding that he has the same mindset.
