Landmark Victorville Mexican Restaurant Destroyed In Fire
VICTORVILLE (CBSLA.com) — A fire early Monday destroyed a landmark Mexican restaurant in Victorville.
The blaze broke out just after midnight at Rinconsito Del Mar Mexican Restaurant, located at the intersection of Seventh Street and La Paz Drive, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.
"An aggressive offensive attack was initiated by County Fire personnel; however, the percentage of building involved with fire was too great and forced firefighters to retreat," SBCFD spokesman Eric Sherwin said.
The restaurant was attached to a strip mall, but firefighters were able to keep it from spreading.
It took more than 30 firefighters just under two hours to extinguish the blaze.
"The restaurant is deemed a total loss with damage estimated at $400,000," said Sherwin.
No firefighters were injured.
The spot was a favorite place for locals, who said the eatery has been around for decades.
"This is one of our favorite spots to eat," said Manny Mejia. "We used to come here and have cocktail shrimp and good seafood. It's sad to see it burn down. I'm not sure how it got burned down, but sad to see it. It's a good hole in the wall."
"Now we're gonna find someplace else to eat, and there weren't many places that were as good as this one was. It's really a loss," said Marla Diendorf.
The cause of the fire was under investigation by the County Fire's Office of the Fire Marshal and San Bernardino Sheriff's Arson & Bomb detail.
