By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

FLORENCE - Charred remains and memories are all Eddie Smith has left of his restaurant and catering business.

Florence firefighters inspect the basement area where they think the strip mall fire started. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

A fire early Sunday tore through the Manderlay Drive strip mall where Eddie's Southern Style Bar-B-Q and Catering had thrived for seven years. His business, along with half of the building, was destroyed.

Also lost: the day-to-day reminders of Smith's wife of 23 years, Katie, who suffered a fatal heart attack at the restaurant four years ago.

"I may have a few pots and pans left, but other than that, everything else is gone," said the 50-year-old man. "I'm just devastated. There were a lot of memories there."

Smoke was reported about 1:40 a.m. Sunday.

The strip mall housed four other businesses, including an art studio, a Japanese restaurant and a market.

Smoke and soot damage is evident in the Matsuya Japanese Restaurant. The slippers and a floor pillow were moved to show the area they had covered. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

Damage estimates were not available from the fire department or business owners Sunday afternoon.

"All indications" point to the fire starting in the basement, which was being used by a tenant for either a business or storage, said Capt. Tom Baumann of the Florence Fire Department.

A firewall prevented some businesses from being burned down, Baumann said.

The tables were set at Matsuya Japanese Restaurant, but the napkins and place settings were covered in soot. The restaurant had severe smoke damage.

"When I arrived and saw that the restaurant was standing, I thought we were lucky," owner Hideaki Matsushita said. "We're not quite lucky in this case. ... I hoped for a moment, but as soon as I came in, I knew it wouldn't be possible to restore soon."

Matsushita, who also owns Matsuya Japanese Market next to the restaurant, canceled the reservations for the week. He expected to start cleaning up today.

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com