'It was a staple,' Russellville restaurant catches fire Tuesday morning

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark - A restaurant that began serving its community at a time when we were coming out of a world war caught fire Tuesday morning. Now its future is uncertain.

Over the last 80 years, The Old South Restaurant has been a staple in the Russellville community. Zach Summitt and his father took over nine years ago, he said the love of the place from the community made them want to become owners.

“We saw potential and we could tell everybody wanted to come here, they just needed a reason to come,” Summitt said.

However, on Tuesday, officials with the Russellville Fire Department said they received a call at 12:30 a.m. from someone who passed by the restaurant and saw smoke. Officials said once they arrived on scene the fire had already started, and it was coming mostly from the front and back of the business.

Officials with the department also say with the assistance of 14 firefighters they were able to get it under control after four hours and left the scene around 10 a.m.

Summitt said barely anything was saved inside the restaurant and he is in shock about how bad everything looks. He says part of the pain is knowing ho...