Family-owned restaurant gutted by fire just one month after it opened

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A restaurant owner promised to rebuild after a fire destroyed her dream business on Memorial Drive Thursday morning.

Firefighters said flames were shooting from everywhere when they first arrived at the family-owned restaurant called Mamaw's Country Kitchen a little after 4 a.m. Crews worked overnight to put out the fire.

Firefighters said the fire started in the back of the building.

Ivey Beck, the restaurant's owner, said she had a problem with a leak coming through the light fixture that the owner of the strip had not yet fixed. She thinks the fire may have started from an electrical issue but the exact cause is still being investigated.

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Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach said Mamaw's Country Kitchen opened for business after the first of the year, and today would have been its 34th day in business. The restaurant was doing well, attracting regulars to the counter.

Beck baked every day at the restaurant. Some of her famous desserts still sit charred in the shattered dessert case.

"I couldn't keep banana pudding in, peach cobbler. Couldn't keep the lemon cake or the red velvet," Beck said.

Beck promises her dream didn't go up in smoke. She said she'll try to rebuild or open a restaurant somewhere else.

"Yes, sir. I will keep cooking," Beck said.

No other businesses in the strip mall were damaged by the fire damage, officials said.

Cox Media Group