Los Albertos Owner Says She will Rebuild

The owner of an Idaho Falls restaurant says she will rebuild after fire destroyed the business she spent 13-years building.

Sofia Gomez got the call around 7:00 Friday morning that her restaurant, Los Albertos, was on fire.

“I just started crying,” Gomez said.” There are a lot of memories in there.”

Gomez opened the restaurant 13-years-ago and has seen it through some rough times.

“This is bad. It is almost 13-years in business that I worked so hard to pick it up,” Gomez said. “[It has} gone down and up and it is still there. It is sad to see 13-years gone in three hours.”

Firefighters were called to the restaurant by an employee who was working alone in the restaurant.

“There was one guy working that night only. He said he heard a big crack,” Gomez told KIFI/KIDK while choking back tears. “He tried to find what was going, see if something fell. He don’t find anything.”

The early morning fire sent thick black smoke into the sky. Fire investigators are still looking for a cause, but Gomez says they have told here they have a suspicion.

“We are thinking it is a panel between the restrooms and the office. It is an electrical panel right there,” she said. “We think it start right there.”

Gomez says the restaurant will re-open but she is not sure if it will be in the same location. She is currently waiting to hear back from the insurance company before knowing for sure.

Los Albertos’ employs a total of eight full-time employees. Gomez says if the insurance money comes through, their salaries will be covered as well.