Fire takes Crossroads out for several months
Customers still pull into the parking lot at Crossroads Food and Spirit in Osceola expecting a hot meal and great company. They don't know that a week before, a fire devastated the inside of the restaurant.
The exterior of the building doesn't show the extensive damage that happened when the fire broke out in the kitchen in the early morning of Feb. 28.
"It gets worse as you go in," co-owner Polly Busick said as she stood in the smoke-damaged entry way.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, but is thought to be electrical. The damage will mean the restaurant will be closed for three months or more.
Although the exact time the fire broke out is unknown, a melted dining room clock shows time stopped in the restaurant at 2:36 a.m.
Pictures, maps and other memorabilia still hang on the entry way's once-white walls that are now a charcoal gray.
Glass from broken windows crunches under Polly and Shane Busicks' feet as they survey the damage. The restaurant is their sole source of income, but they lost more than just a paycheck.
The Busicks have a passerby and a quick response time from Osceola's Volunteer Fire Department (OVFD) to thank for salvaging the building.
"It would have probably gone to the ground, if that passerby didn't call," Polly Busick said. "And the fire department was here in 12 minutes. They were quick."
The unknown caller told 911 he saw flames shooting out of the restaurant's roof.
The couple then received a phone call from a dispatcher at 2:30 a.m notifying them.
"We were panicked," Shane Busick said.
"We were shocked more than anything," Polly Busick added.
Shane Busick went immediately to the restaurant while his wife found someone to watch their 2-year-old child.
The couple waited outside while firefighters tried to find the source of the smoke.
"It was far worse than we expected," Polly Busick said. "When they said it was contained to the kitchen, we thought it wasn't going to be too bad, but when we were able to walk through, it was devastating."
Sprinklers in the kitchen failed to put out the fire, but a hot water heater may have fought off flames to the dining room.
Former Chief of the fire department Donnie McCuddin said it didn't take the 15 fire fighters who responded long to put out the fire, but the department worked for nearly two hours to ensure it was completely out.
The Busicks said the kitchen and back storage were a total loss. The dining room is also considered destroyed because of smoke damage.
"It'll have to be stripped down to the frame," Polly Busick said.
A week after the fire, the owners are still trying to recover from their original shock when they were told about the fire.
"I don't think it hit us for a couple of days," Polly Busick said. "When I come in, it doesn't feel like I'm walking into my restaurant."
The rebuilding process is at a standstill until an official report of the fire's cause is sent to the Busicks' insurance.
The 8-year-old business will receive a major face lift during construction.
"We'll have to start from scratch," Polly Busick said. "It'll be like a new restaurant."
Until then, community support has kept the Busicks' spirits up.
"We've had support coming in from phone calls, text messages, etc," Shane Busick said. "Everyone is offering their help."
