ROTC (Restaurant on the Corner) Grill is closed today after the restaurant caught fire early this morning.

The Fayetteville Fire Department responded to a fire alarm call at 6:39 am and were able to control the blaze, but not without significant damage to the longtime Fayetteville restaurant. No one was in the building, and no one was injured in the fire.

T.L. Nelms, the owner of ROTC said that the the fire started in the bar area but the cause is still unknown at this point.

“We were closed Monday. I can’t think of what could have started it,” Nelms said.

According to Nelms, the combination of fire, smoke, and water damage from the attempt to control the blaze may be too much for the restaurant to overcome. He said he did not have fire insurance on the building and the future of the business is uncertain at this time.

“We’ve been (in Fayetteville) for 37 years. This may be the final nail in our coffin,” Nelms told us.

“I just feel for the employees at Christmas time,” he said.

ROTC opened in Fayetteville on Dickson St. in 1973. The restaurant moved to its current location on Highway 112 and combined with its Dickson St. neighbor, The Grill in 1997 when the two restaurants were relocated to make room for the Three Sisters Building.

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