DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A fire at a closed restaurant in DeKalb County is now being investigated as arson.
The former This Is It! restaurant closed after the Georgia Department of Transportation acquired the land through eminent domain.
GDOT needs the property to expand Interstate 20.
Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes spoke with neighbors who said they spotted suspicious activity in the neighborhood.
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Dr. Cassie Kidd hasn’t been to the restaurant on Panola Road since it was forced to close its doors.
When the doctor was getting off the I-20 exit on Monday to get some food, she noticed something strange about the sign that used to say “This Is It.”
“Their name was removed. It’s removed now and I’m like OK...I think that’s strange,” Kidd said.
She had no clue the restaurant was forced to close in November.
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Saturday morning’s fire didn’t make sense to many people in the community.
“I’m not surprised the building burned down,” one neighbor said.
Neighbors told Fernandes they’ve been having problems with squatters in the area and they wouldn’t be surprised if squatters started a fire that got out of control.
DeKalb County Fire investigators believe it could be arson.
“People are getting displaced and it’s happening all day every day,” another neighbor said.
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