A fire broke out Monday afternoon at La Esquina De La Fama restaurant in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood.

Crews arrived at the restaurant, located in the 1300 block of SW 8th Street, shortly after 4 p.m. to find heavy smoke and flames coming from both the front and rear of the property, fire officials said.

"It was a big fire, and we almost lost everything," said Miky Chevalier, owner of La Esquina de la Fama. "We fight to have this business—a family business for 14 years that almost disappeared right now."

The incident was upgraded to a Code 1 working fire, prompting additional resources to the scene. Firefighters stretched hose lines for an aggressive attack, entered the structure and raised aerial ladders for roof ventilation.

Employees escape safely

A search confirmed that all occupants had evacuated safely, according to fire officials.

"We were working like any normal day and we went in and that's when we saw smoke and the sparks of flames," said Alejandra Ruiz-Machin, who works at the restaurant.

The business was open at the time, but only three employees were inside. They smelled smoke, ran outside and called 911.

Officials said the fire was contained to the restaurant within 20 minutes. No injuries were reported.

Looking ahead

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The health and food inspector was contacted to assess possible food damage, officials said.

"It's a family business, but we're gonna' do it again," Chevalier said. "Thank God, we're going to do it again."

Miami police reported that traffic on SW 8th Street between 12th and 17th Avenues was temporarily shut down because of the fire.