By Ashley Mackin | SDUN Editor

At 4:20 a.m. on Feb. 20, San Diego Fire and Rescue responded to a call for a structure fire on the 2600 block of San Diego Avenue. Upon arrival, responders found the El Patio restaurant at 2611 San Diego Ave. in flames.

Approximately 30 officers responded and it took approximately 40 minutes to extinguish the fire. While the restaurant is destroyed, there was only roof damage to some neighboring buildings. The two businesses are the Gum Saan antique shop and Captain Finch’s mercantile store. All buildings are within the boundaries of the Old Town Historic State Park.

Although a part of the State Park, San Diego Fire and Rescue spokesperson Maurice Luque said the investigation into the cause of the fire will be conducted as any investigation would. Early reports estimate the damage as being close to $1 million, with $500,000 damage to the structure and $500,000 to the contents.

At the time of publication, the cause of the fire was unknown and there were no reported injuries of officers, residents or employees.