SPRING, Texas – Firefighters put out flames at a historic cafe in Old Town Spring Sunday morning.
The Spring Fire Department said it was called out to a fire at the Wunsche Bros. Cafe on Midway Street and Preston Avenue about 3:30 a.m.
When they arrived they found heavy flames coming from a newer part of the cafe.
"I was driving by when I saw the fire and everything, so what I did, I just called 911," said witness Anthony Bonilla. "I always pass by here, I saw that that was not normal."
Because of the history of the building and the fact that it is made of wood, firefighters pulled a second alarm to make sure they had enough crews in case the fire spread quickly.
Most of the fire damage was contained to the newer part of the building. Firefighters had to work hard to make sure it didn't spread to the historical side.
"It is a shock," owner Nathan Laviage said. "It is something that you never think would happen."
Wunsche Brothers Cafe and Saloon was built in 1902. Almost everyone in the area has a story about the haunted restaurant from their childhood, which made it that much more difficult to look at the burnt mess left behind.
"They used to cook burgers out the back, everyone that knows this area used to come over from Spring High School and eat a burger at lunch time," former owner Vinny Sinisi said.
Arson investigators are trying to figure out the cause of the fire, as firefighters say it did not spark in the kitchen.
"It is a wooden structure," Sean Babendure, of the Spring Fire Department, said. "Everything in there is all wood. Buildings with that kind of building construction, they can go pretty quick, so we wanted to make sure we had enough resources."
Officials said they were able to keep the fire contained to the newer section of the building. The historic part suffered smoke damage.
"We put on the new section in (about 1985), right when we were remodeling," Laviage said. "It's just an old building. We're lucky the old part didn't catch fire."
No one was inside the building when the fire started and there were no injuries. Laviage said he plans to rebuild.