Raging fire rips through popular northwest Atlanta restaurant

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Violent flames shot from a restaurant in northwest Atlanta early Wednesday morning.

It happened at B's Cracklin’ Barbecue on Main Street.

Officials said the restaurant was closed when the fire broke out around 2:44 a.m.

"Someone called 911 and the owner actually lives nearby," Atlanta Fire Captain Cortez Stafford said. "He got an alert on his phone about something being wrong at the restaurant."

According to firefighters, the owner arrived on scene and tried to get the fire under control, but wasn't successful due to the intensity of the flames.

Firefighters quickly responded and attempted to battle the blaze from the attic of the restaurant, but had to retreat as the roof started to collapse.

No word yet as to what caused the fire to begin. 

According to Captain Stafford, the owner has been through this before.

"He had a restaurant burn down in Savannah a few years ago," Captain Stafford said.