NEW ORLEANS — Firefighters worked to control a large 2-alarm fire at a restaurant in New Orleans' Treme neighborhood Wednesday morning.
The New Orleans Fire Department said the fire started around 10:40 a.m. at the Roosevelt's Black Pearl Restaurant on North Claiborne Avenue shortly after the businesses had stopped serving breakfast.
NOFD Capt. Edwin Holmes said one man escaped the fire by jumping out of a second-floor balcony.
"Everyone is accounted for that should have been in the building," Holmes said. He added that firefighters have not been able to get inside the building to see if anyone else was inside.
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Photos: Fire at Roosevelt's Black Perl Restaurant
Holmes said the back part of the building had already collapsed as of 11:45 a.m. but it was possible that the rest of the building could collapse under the weight of the water.
Longtime customers watched in disbelief as a favorite restaurant went up in flames.
"The restaurant was a place where you could go to get a good soul-food dinner. It was a really beautiful place. We’re going to miss it," said Patricia McDonald, who had been a customer at the restaurant for 30 years. "No more smothered okra, no more gumbo, no more chitlins. All that’s gone."
Members of the restaurant staff also mourned the loss, including Joseph Mimitte, a longtime cook and manager at the Black Pearl Restaurant.
"If you didn’t have enough money, (the manager will) give you something to eat and tell you don’t worry about it," he said, standing in front of the ruined building. "It really takes the life out the 6th Ward. This is what you call soul food and good home cooking.
Forty-four firefighters and 16 firetrucks responded to the scene.
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