Owner’s second restaurant damaged by fire

Parts of a restaurant are heavily damaged following an overnight fire in Macon, about an hour north of Columbia. Smoke was pouring from a corner of AJ’s Eat & Drink near Pace Street and Highway 63 around 10 p.m. Monday, before the flames spread to the roof.

The state fire marshal is expected to be on scene Tuesday. The chef told KTVO it apparently started near the same area where the restaurant’s croutons are fried. The maintenance man’s son also told KTVO they had been at AJ’s between 2 and 7 p.m., spending about 30 minutes on the roof, where they used tar to patch a hole.

AJ’s is closed Mondays and Sundays.

The same owners had another iconic restaurant burn down in November 2012. The Pear Tree was later torn down in Bevier, about 10 minutes to the west of Macon.