UPDATE: AJ's Grayton sustains minimal damage in Friday night fire
AJ's Grayton Beach restaurant sustained minor damage in a fire Friday night, but the restaurant is hoping to reopen later today.
Firefighters from the South Walton Fire District were called to the restaurant at about 8:40 p.m. Friday after a 911 caller reported that smoke and flames were visible from outside the restaurant.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they confirmed reports of flames coming through the restaurant's chimney area, according to a post on the Fire District's Facebook page.
By 9:30 p.m., firefighters had confirmed the fire had been extinguished, however, the site was still being treated as an active fire scene.
Fire at AJ's in Destin: AJ's owner says Club Bimini could re-open by weekend
No one was in the building at the time of the fire, according the the Fire District. However, the Fire District's Facebook post says one person was evaluated for their injuries sustained in the fire, but that they were not transported to a hospital for treatment.
DeFuniak Street was shut down as firefighters extinguished the blaze. The street was reopened and the South Walton Fire District cleared the scene at about 10:30 p.m. Friday.
A manager for the restaurant on Saturday morning said the firefighters did a phenomenal job getting the fire extinguished before it got out of control.
"(The damage) was very minimal," he said. "We're going to try to get back open today at some point. There's just a few procedures we have to go through before were able to get back open."
According to the Fire District's preliminary investigation, "grease buildup in the kitchen ductwork" was the most likely cause of the fire.
The AJ's franchise is unfortunately no stranger to fires.
In February 2016, the thatched roof of Destin's AJ's Seafood & Oyster Bar caught fire. While it caused an estimated $50,000 worth of damage, according to AJ's owner Alan Laird at the time, the main restaurant was unscathed during the fire and the upstairs Club Bimini bar sustained just minor damage.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Fire breaks out at AJ's Grayton, minimal damage caused
