Fire destroys Moultrie family business and community staple

MOULTRIE, Ga. (WALB) -A fire left an abundance of inside damages to Daltons Family Restaurant in Moultrie late Monday night.

Its owners and the people in the community are devastated.

Kelly Dalton, one of the owners, said he received a call from EMS around 10 p.m. that night. Officials told him that the inside of the restaurant was on fire.

Kelly said it appeared to be caused by an electrical shortage but officials have not confirmed that.

“I hadn’t been home not even 30 mins from here and 911 called and said ‘is this Mr. Dalton that owns Dalton’s restaurant’ and I said ‘yes sir’. He said ‘your business is on fire’ and I said ‘which one’ he said ‘the one on Roland’ and I said ‘okay I’m on the way,’” he said.

The history of Dalton’s restaurant originated from the owner’s grandparents who owned several restaurants in the late 60′s. Their morals and values are based upon love, family and of course good food.

The restaurant is a staple in the community because it’s been around for three generations.

Since the tragedy, small businesses in the area, like Dalton’s, have gained the support of the community.

Salvador Marin, Marketing Director of The Moultrie YMCA, started a “Shop Local, Support Local” Campaign. He said it’s important to rally around local businesses affected by any hardships.

“It’s very tough for the community but at the same time it makes us realize that anything can happen at any time,” he said.

Nothing has been confirmed but the Daltons were told the inside will be a total gut job and once that’s done they plan to hire a clean-up company.

“We love cooking, we love people, just like our employees. They are our family, the community is our family,” Amy Dalton said.

The biggest thing the Dalton family is asking for at this time from the community is prayer and support at the express location and patience with them getting rebuilt.

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