ROANOKE, Va. – After months of setbacks, renovations have finally started at a local Roanoke restaurant destroyed in a fire.
Flames tore through the Community Inn restaurant in Grandin Village in April.
Investigators said the fire started after smoke materials weren't properly disposed of.
When the Community Inn finally started work to rebuild, they discovered asbestos and had to wait for permits to safely remove it.
The owner is meeting with city architects this week to get renovation plans approved in order to get a building permit.
"We got to bring everything up to code now -- electrical, plumbing, all that so they can get in there and start doing that," said Mont Morrow, the vice president and manager of Community Inn. "The quicker we can get that, then we can get to building and start moving."
Another local business owner, Jenny Prickitt, who runs New to Me Consignment Boutique, said losing the restaurant in the fire left a void for locals and businesses in the area.
"We're sorry you had to go through all this. You have been missed and we're just ready to have you back and come back to the normal Grandin," Prickitt said.
The hope is to open Community Inn by October. The owner said smoking will no longer be allowed in the restaurant when it reopens.