Fire Engulfs Newly Opened Restaurant in Westchester

Westchester restaurant owners are picking up the pieces of what is left of their business after a fire ripped through their building destroying all of their dreams of owning a successful community driven restaurant.

Now they are coming up with a new plan.

There is a sign up telling customers stopping by that a family affair restaurant is no longer open.

Soot covers the windows after the devastating fire and it has been incredibly tough on the owners who only opened their doors one year ago.

Brittany Bryant and Jakiya Terrell were the owners of the restaurant and now only have a few pieces of what is left.

“It is difficult coming here, I haven’t wanted to come back,” Terrell said.

In the early morning hours of last Sunday, an electrical fire started in their kitchen. Now what remains are damaged items, soot and the strong smell of smoke forcing them to close.

“This was our lifestyle waking up to do this on the daily, something we love,” Bryant said.

Opening “A Family Affair Southern Cuisine” was a dream for a long time for the two best friends who attended Westchester High School together.

“We are to young African American entrepreneurs,” Terrell said. “It came from our daily way of life of cooking and hanging out.”

What they were able to start from that love of cooking was something special.

They were able to build a family in their business holding true to their restaurant’s name by hiring people in need right here in Westchester.

“We staff homeless people, we staff people with disabilities and different things we want to contribute to assist them and ourselves,” Terrell said.

Because they gave back they quickly built a big following in just one year of opening their doors.

They aren’t giving up just yet, they say, they just need some time to get back on their feet.

“We are not giving up, we can’t, we aren’t built like that,” Terrell said.

The owners are still fulfilling catering orders as they borrow another restaurant’s kitchen until they figure out where they will open next.