Lexington, VA (July 9, 2010) - An early morning fire destroyed the Southern Inn, a popular Lexington restaurant operation and caused smoke and water damage to both the McCorkle's Hallmark Card shop and ReMax Real Estate on Main Street.
According to fire officials, the fire began about 1:40 a.m., but due to a fast response, was contained quickly.
One firefighter sustained a minor injury.
Alex Macheras, whose family owns buildings which house both the Southern Inn and ReMax, told the Rockbridge Weekly that hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage had occurred, perhaps much more than a million dollars.
The second floor collapsed onto the first and daylight can be seen from the roof area. The building appears to be a total loss.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but there was at least one report of a lightning strike nearby. Power was cut off to the area by Dominion Power and some nearby businesses were closed early today.
George Huger is the owner/operator of the Southern Inn and was on the scene at least twice today to survey the wreckage and take out some personal and business items. He wasn't available for an interview at the time of the posting of this story.
McCorkle's Hallmark Shop received water damage and was closed as well. When it will reopen was not announced.
|  | Southern Inn owner/operator George Huger speaks to firefighter Trent Roberts about the damage. (J. E. Clark photo)
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