Pizzamania, a beloved pizza restaurant and a staple in Whittier for more than 50 years, burned down Tuesday morning in a blaze that the owner believes might have been intentionally set.
The pizza joint and four other businesses were damaged after a fire was reported at 2:25 a.m. in the one-story strip mall in the 13500 block of Telegraph Road, Los Angeles County fire officials said.
Firefighters arrived to find the five businesses engulfed in flames. The blaze was extinguished by 3:04 a.m.
Patrons and passersby posted images of the fire on social media, and expressed grief over the loss of the restaurant that has been a fixture in the community for decades.
“NOOOOOOO!!!!” one person posted on Instagram, followed by a series of crying emojis.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department said the cause of the fire is being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“Someone came by and torched it,” said Warren Haines, one of the co-owners of the restaurant.
Video cameras from the restaurant were destroyed in the fire, but Haines said video from one of the neighboring businesses showed what looked like someone intentionally setting the fire.
Haines, who started the restaurant in 1973 with his business partner, Jim Barrit, said the person appeared to have targeted Pizzamania.
Investigators were searching the area for more surveillance images, he said.
Officials with the Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to inquiries about the fire.
The fire put about 50 employees at the restaurant out of work, he said.
“I’m pissed off,” he said. “It takes the wind out of your sail.”
Just hours after the fire, Haines said his son, who handles social media for the restaurant, had received more than 700 emails from patrons devastated about the news and wondering how they could help.
He said he was moved by their outreach and understands that Pizzamania was an icon in the community for decades.
“They call, and half of them are in tears,” he said. “It means everything to me.”
Haines said he’s reeling over the fire but intends to keep Pizzamania alive.
“We’re an institution,” he said. “I intend to rebuild.”