Ballwin Taco Bell Goes Up in Flames

A Taco Bell in Ballwin was gutted by fire early this morning.

According to Fox 2 News, drivers passing by the 1300 block of Manchester around 3 a.m. noticed flames inside the fast food restaurant. Fire crews responded to find the building's roof and insides had been extensively damaged by the blaze.

KSDK reported that fire crews put out the fire a little after 4 a.m.

No injuries have been reported. The Ballwin Police Department said on Facebook that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

After hearing about the fire, the owner of two nearby restaurants put the word out that any Taco Bell employees made temporarily out of work by the fire should contact him.

"It's in our neighborhood, and we know it's a lot of younger folks from the neighborhood who work there," said John Marciano, the owner of Lazy River Grill, in Manchester, and Yellow Stone Cafe, in Chesterfield.

"Anyone who needs a job during the interim, we can always use the help, too," he says.

Marciano says that since his businesses put the call out on social media, the response has been "huge" and they are expecting to hire new employees soon.

• Sign up for our weekly newsletters to get the latest on the news, things to do and places to eat delivered right to your inbox.
• Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and Google News.