Flames tore through a Loon Lake landmark Tuesday morning, destroying a building that was home to thousands of meals away from home for the community.

One employee and several customers were in the Dinner Bell restaurant at the corner of 395 and Colville Road when the initial fire broke out. A customer came into the kitchen to try and put out the fire, but was unable to do so.

Firefighters from Stevens County District 1 were first on the scene; they were able to knock down the initial fire, but by that time, it had spread to the roof.

"The cook on scene said they tried to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher, but to no avail," said Lt. Russell Armstrong from Stevens County Fire District 1. "As they let they tried to pull the emergency pull for the hood system and it did not activate.

The Dinner Bell has been a staple in the community for decades. Tom Ator took pictures of the fire on his cell phone; he and his wife Jeanie had been customers for years.

"It's just a sad deal to see it gone," said Ator. "It's got a lot of memories for a lot of people."

"It was like a home away," said customer John Christie. "They had good food. I hope they rebuild it."

Owners Bill and Janet Johnson have owned the Dinner Bell for 20 years. They have insurance, but said they haven't even had time to think about rebuilding.

Johnson said they've had small grease fires in the past, but never large enough for the kitchen fire suppression system to work. He's puzzled about why it didn't activate during Tuesday's fire.

?We?ve had it serviced and we have no idea why it did not work,? Johnson said.

Firefighters say that will be the focus of their investigation.

"We have to find out from their records when it was inspected last, why it didn't trip and so on," said Lt. Russell.

The Johnsons bought the Dinner Bell in 1990 and have never closed the restaurant, not even for holidays.

"Today's the first day it's going to be closed," said Johnson. "So, that's a sad thing."