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Grandma Sally's Restaurant In Naperville Gutted By Fire

NAPERVILLE (CBS) -- A famous Naperville restaurant went up in flames overnight.

CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports as many as 50 firefighters responded to the blaze at Grandma Sally's Family Restaurant at 450 E. Ogden Av.

Since the late 1970s, people have been visiting Grandma Sally's to try the famous cheesecake, waffles, and pancakes. Unfortunately for its owners, employees, and customers, the restaurant was all but destroyed by an early morning fire.

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Firefighters were called to the restaurant around 2:15 a.m., and when they arrived, they found a tower of flames shooting through the roof.

No one was inside, so firefighters quickly went into a defensive mode to douse the heavy flames. Crews from seven area departments were called in to extinguish the fire.

"There was heavy smoke and flame. Within about a half hour or 45 minutes, we did have the bulk of the fire under control, but there was and still are some sporadic fires in the corner of the building," Naperville Fire Chief Mark Puknaitis said.

As of 6:30 a.m., crews were still working to douse hot spots at the restaurant, and keep an eye on the building in case the fire flares up again.

The building was completely gutted by the fire, and Puknaitis estimated the damage at $400,000.

Linda, a longtime waitress, said she'll miss the regulars.

"A lot of the business was regulars," she said. "They were good, funny."

The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

It was the second restaurant fire in the past week in Naperville. Rizzo's in downtown Naperville sustained about $200,000 in damages on Sunday, and was forced to close due to the fire.

Puknaitis said there does not appear to be any connection.

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