Town of Nags Head

There's little left of Basnight's Lone Cedar Café after an early morning fire.

A two-alarm fire destroyed a Nags Head restaurant owned by North Carolina Senator Pro Tempore Marc Basnight.

A passing motorist reported seeing fire and smoke around 1:00 a.m. at Basnight’s Lone Cedar Café at 7623 S. Virginia Dare Trail.

The restaurant closed at midnight, according to its Website.

Employees gathered near the burned remains of Basnight's Lone Cedar Café not knowing what caused the devastating fire or what they'll do next. Nearly 100 people worked at the restaurant which was popular with both locals and tourists.

"All of our life is in the restaurant and the employees. It hurts," said Basnight.

Basnight and his family live in the area and ran the restaurant, building its reputation on serving local fresh seafood. The business that took 12 years to build was destroyed in a couple of hours.

The fire started early Tuesday morning and moved quickly, devouring the building and everything inside, including some of the Basnight family collectibles. All of this comes just before the busy summer is about to start.

"Timing would never be good for anything like this, but for it to occur at the opening of our season makes it worse," said Basnight.

Word of the fire spread quickly among the residents of the Outer Banks community. Many people stopped by to see the destruction and check on the Basnights and their employees, employees who say they felt more like family than staff.

Damage is expected to exceed $1 million, according to investigators.

The wooden building had a juniper interior, so it burned quickly, according to Nags Head officials.

More than 50 firefighters were on the scene, including units from Chicamacomico Banks, Colington, Duck, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Manns Harbor, Roanoke Island, Southern Shores, and Stumpy Point.

The Dare County Fire Marshal and members of the county Emergency Management and Emergency Medical Services also responded.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

No one was hurt in the fire.