Shredded confetti-like pieces of white material lie on the sidewalk in front of an Auburndale pizzeria, remnants of devastation that struck the family-run business on the eve of its 35th anniversary.
A fire caused extensive damage to Pizza Connection at 220 E. Lake Ave. late Sunday evening. The downtown restaurant has been closed since then while the owners determine the path forward.
“My dad always told me if there was a fire there would be a roaring sound like a train, or a tornado in a sense,” owner Cole Rutledge, 37, said. “It was in the attic. I didn’t hear any of that, it was quiet, so quiet.”
Rutledge said he was finishing mopping the floors of the pizzeria on Sunday night when he heard a noise from the restaurant’s attic.
So Rutledge continued the process of seasoning the oven’s shelves. He said he noticed a little smoke in the oven, but that’s to be expected. In the back of his mind, something was nagging at him. “When I finished the last and final shelf, I said let me go outside and check,” Rutledge said. “I took one step back and saw a bit of smoke. I thought it was coming from the exhaust. Then I took another step back and then I saw it all.”