MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. – A fire that ripped through a former Manatee County restaurant Sunday was likely arson, the fire marshal for Eastern Manatee Fire Rescue confirmed.
- Fire destroys former Farmer's Inn
- Fire marshall says fire is suspicious
- Building was a local icon for nearly 50 years
- More Manatee County headlines
The former Farmer’s Inn, located at 16300 State Road 64 near Myakka City, burned to the ground Sunday evening. The building functioned as a restaurant and convenience store for nearly 50 years until its owner, Eugene Moore, retired. The building was then leased and opened briefly as the Buckaroo Roadhouse.
At the time of the fire, the building was no longer being used as a restaurant and the electricity had been turned off.
Alex Onishenko, the fire marshal at Eastern Manatee Fire Rescue, said dogs detected a flammable liquid in the rubble.
“Nobody had any right to be in that place and there were no storms in the area,” he explained. “It kind of throws up a red flag that someone did this deliberately.”
Onishenko wouldn’t specify if there were any possible suspects, but said they do not believe Moore had anything to do with the fire.
“He had no insurance. When we talked to him, he had personal things in the building, so it would make no sense that he would think of something like that,” Onishenko said.
Former employee Vanessa Roach said the Farmer’s Inn was a place where many Myakka City residents had their first job. She said the owner was tough on the teens but treated everyone like family.
"If he knew you couldn't pay he'd just give it to you, he wasn't going to let you leave hungry,” she said.
The building was set to be sold and recently listed as under contract. It’s not clear how Sunday’s fire will affect the sale.
“I feel like whoever did this needs to pay for it,” Roach said.
