Popular restaurant in Elkhart closes without warning

ELKHART, Ind. -- A restaurant that was a popular spot in Elkhart for almost three decades shutdown without warning. The doors closed on Sunday, February 24, and have not opened since.

Doors are locked and signs in the window read "For Lease" and "Closed until further notice", suggesting Firehouse Restaurant and Lounge will not be reopening anytime soon.

Peole in the community are shocked.

"It was a really nice place.  They always got a lot of business and everything so you never would have guessed that anything would have went wrong," said Skye Turco, Elkhart resident.

Former employees are just as surprised. Geri Bouwman worked for the owner, Larry Houghton several years ago.

"He was a good person to work for, if you had a personal problem outside of work, he'd be the first one to help you out," Bouwman explained.

I called Houghton many times to see if he could shed some light on the situation but never got an answer.

Other restaurants in the shopping center say the shutdown has been beneficial for them because the former Firehouse regulars are now frequenting their restaurants.

Many are puzzled by the abrupt shutdown. 

Turco says, "They should have told the public, but they  especially should have told the employees."