Iconic New Smyrna Beach restaurant likely a total loss after overnight fire

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – A fire broke out early Monday at a popular New Smyrna Beach restaurant.

The fire started just after 1 a.m. Monday at Pappas Drive-In on North Dixie Freeway. Crews say the fire was in the attic area towards the back of the building when they arrived. New Smyrna Beach’s fire chief says it took six engines and 25 crew members to get the fire under control, and hours to knock it down.

“These older buildings are stubborn, heavier timber, heavier conventional lumber layers of roofing material, they are really stubborn to put out,” Fire Chief Shawn Vandermark said. “We’ve been here 8 hours and you can see there’s still spots we’re having to go back and put out just to get them totally extinguished.”

No injuries were reported.

Firefighters with the New Smyrna Beach Fire Department are investigating what caused the fire, but the building is likely a total loss.

Pappas Drive-In opened in 1970 and is known for its famous burgers and fried chicken.

“It was a great place to be and we’re gonna miss not being able to go to it,” said customer Betty Dysterhouse. “And I feel for the owners and all the workers because they worked their buns off and really tried to make people happy.”

Customer Mary Timmerman says she hopes the owners are able to rebuild.

“I am very sad about this, we were just here for breakfast a couple days ago with our granddaughter and it’s just hard to believe and sad,” Timmerman said.

The restaurant also made headlines earlier this year when it was announced that superstar Brad Pitt filmed part of his movie about Formula 1 racing at Pappas.

The movie is scheduled to be released in 2025.

A GoFundMe for the restaurant was set up to help the 35 employees — some of whom have worked for the restaurant for decades — as they deal with the aftermath of the fire.

To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.

Stay with News 6 and ClickOrlando.com for updates.