The Little Rock Fire Department is investigating after a popular bar in the city's South Main District burned Monday morning.
Emergency personnel responded at 11:04 a.m. to Midtown Billiards at 1316 Main St. Fire Department spokesman Capt. Edwin Woolf said firefighters saw heavy smoke coming from the first floor of the two-story brick building. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in about 20 minutes, he said.
There were no injuries. The bar -- a smoky, late-night establishment known for burgers, billiards and live music -- had been closed for several hours.
Woolf said Monday afternoon that the extent of damage to the business was unclear. He said the cause of the blaze was under investigation and there were no signs of foul play.
[GALLERY: Click here to see scene of Midtown Billiards fire.]
Midtown Billiards General Manager David Shipps, 42, said it appeared most of the damage to his 3,888-square-foot business was in the kitchen on the first floor. During the blaze, firefighters removed two large cooking appliances from the kitchen and placed the charred, twisted devices on the sidewalk.
"Lot of smoke damage, some up top," Shipps said. "And that's what we got so far. I haven't got a chance to really walk through or talk to the fire marshal just yet, so don't really know what's happening just yet."
Light smoke could be seen seeping from the second floor of the business more than an hour after the fire had been extinguished.
The building, built in 1930, is partitioned into three sections where three businesses operate. In addition to Midtown Billiards, a private law firm and Raduno Brick Oven & Barroom Restaurant operate inside the building.
The fire caused minor smoke damage to Raduno, according to Woolf. No injuries were reported. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.
It was unclear if the law firm, which shares a wall with Midtown Billiards, was damaged. Ahnna Hampton, who works at the law firm, said she didn't know the bar next door was burning until someone told her and a co-worker to flee the building.
"We heard what sounded like somebody dropping something," she said. "It was actually somebody just running past and kicking open doors. They said, 'Is anybody up here?' We said yes and he said, 'It's a fire, it's a fire. Everybody out.' Me and our paralegal grabbed our stuff and ran down the hall, and that's when we came out downstairs and we saw a lot of fire and black smoke in the front window."
Police cordoned off Main Street between 12th Street and Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive as fire officials investigated. Several Midtown Billiards employees and bar regulars arrived and watched from a gas station across the street. Some of them hugged one another and cried. Others approached Shipps to offer support.
"A lot of regulars have come out to show support," he said. "I mean, it's great."
Shipps said Midtown Billiards has been in business in Little Rock since 1940. It moved to its current location in the South Main District in the 1970s, he said.
"[Midtown Billiards] has been here forever," Shipps said. "It's been a staple of downtown Little Rock and it has been the life of every employee here."
Esquire magazine named Midtown Billiards one of its Best Bars in America in 2007.
Shipps said he plans to reopen the business.
"We will rebuild," he said. "We will be back. We're down, but we're not out."
Information for this article was contributed by Brandon Riddle of Arkansas Online.
Metro on 09/20/2016