‘They might live paycheck to paycheck’: Owner of Middleburg Grumpy’s looks to future after fire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Locals in Middleburg are devastated after Grumpy’s, a popular eatery, caught fire Wednesday night, knocking it out of commission.

“Standing on the sidewalk crying, watching our building burn down was really hard,” Chelsy Wilson said.

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She’d been with the Grumpy’s in Middleburg since the restaurant opened in October 2020.

”It is my second home,” Wilson added.

She considers her coworkers family.

On Thursday, owner Dell Hoard met with the roughly 40 employees who work at the Middleburg location to talk about what’s next.

He reassured them that they still have jobs.

”We’re not leaving them stranded, we are going to be there for them,” Hoard told Action News Jax.

“They might live paycheck to paycheck; we need to make sure we’re there for them.”

Being there for his employees and guests is his number one priority.

Throughout the pandemic, Grumpy’s kept its three restaurants open to the community.

Locals like Joy and Hugh Murray said it got them through the tough times.

”It was just really good to come here,” Joy said.

”Everybody there were the nicest folks ever, so we liked that,” Hugh added.

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Now with Grumpy’s facing some tough times itself, the team plans to come back even stronger.

”Grumpy’s is family. That’s what Grumpy’s is to me. Guests and employees are family,” Wilson said.

Hoard says the team will clean up and rebuild Grumpy’s at its very same location in Middleburg. He plans to reopen in the coming months.

”We will be back. That’s the biggest thing I want everyone to know is Grumpy’s isn’t going anywhere, we will be back, it’s just going to take a little time, but we will come back strong,” Hoard added.

The fire department is still investigating the cause of the fire.

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