U.S. Route 23 restaurant destroyed by fire

WISE – A popular restaurant stop for tourists along U.S. Route 23 was destroyed by fire Friday.Firefighters from Wise and Norton arrived at Reno's Roadhouse in Wise around 7 a.m. to find that a fire inside the rear of the building had spread to the attic area."High winds and heavy smoke meant we had to stop fighting the fire from the inside and start a defensive posture," Wise fire chief Jack Mullins said.A nearby motel and car dealership were not damaged, Mullins said. Fire crews had to use an excavator to tear away part of the roof to fight the blaze, he added.Mullins said it was too soon to determine a cause or exactly where the fire started. The Virginia State Police is investigating the fire.Restaurant owner Terry Fitzer said the Wise location was one of three Reno's operated in Virginia and Kentucky. No staff had arrived at the restaurant when the fire began, he added. Approximately 60 people worked at the Wise location."It's a tragedy," said Fitzer as employees watched firefighters wind down operations. "We're going to reopen. We've been here for 25 years and we want to be here another 25."Wise Mayor Caynor Smith said the loss of Reno's meant more than a loss of tax revenue to the town."Reno's was a place to stop for the community and for tourists, especially during motorcycle season," Smith said. "All sorts of community groups in town and across Wise County held meetings there, and I attended meetings there at least twice a month. The food was great."Motorcycle season made Reno's and Wise a popular stop for cyclists, especially from the Tri-Cities area, because of its location on U.S. 23, Smith added.Snith said he hoped to convene Wise Town Council in the next few days to see what can be done to help with rebuilding or reopening Reno's.Support from area businesses began Friday. GoodTimes Coal-Fired Pizza and Pub in Big stone Gap announced on its Facebook page that it would be selling a Reno's Pizza for the next 30 days to help raise funds for employees' wages and restaurant rebuilding.