WARSAW — Fire investigators spent much of their Sunday at a restaurant in Warsaw. A fire badly damaged Tascas Italian Steakhouse and at least two other businesses in the same strip mall in the 300 block of Enterprise Dr. along State Road 15.

Tascas opened three months ago.

"It was a picture-perfect opening," said General Manager Jonna Paglicci. "Everything about it has been great."

Now, the picture-perfect windows are boarded up. Tables are full of charred debris.

"This is a business that everybody has worked so hard [to open]," said Paglicci. "The owners have loved [it]."

Now employees like Paglicci and her sister Joni Wampler are shocked at the loss.

"To see [the owners'] dream surrounded by yellow tape, it was horrifying," Paglicci told WSBT.

A passing police officer saw smoke coming from the restaurant around 4 a.m. Sunday. It took crews from five departments about 30 minutes to get the fire under control.

At this point investigators aren't saying much about the fire, including where it started, how it started and whether it seems suspicious.

"We're not making any comment on that. It's under investigation." said Warsaw Assistant Fire Chief Rob Barker.

Smoke damaged at least two other businesses in the strip mall, closing the Warsaw Tanning Company all day Sunday.

"It was really filthy," described Warsaw Tanning Co. employee Zach Johnson. "Everything was black. We couldn't really have anyone come in because everything was so messed up."

Warsaw Tanning Company will re-open at 7 a.m. Monday.

Employees questioned what went wrong, investigators cut through the mess and everyone searched for answers.

"The restaurant was profitable, the restaurant was busy," said Jonna Paglicci.

Investigators said the total damage estimate — including smoke damage throughout the rest of the strip mall — is about $750,000. Both the ATF and police are investigating.