Two alarm fire destroys Lago Vista landmark, Mojo's Icehouse

LAGO VISTA, Texas - An iconic nightspot on the north-shore of Lake Travis burned to the ground overnight.

About 20 to 30 people were at the Mojo's Icehouse restaurant when the fire started.

According to the Fire Marshal, it may take at least a week before we find out what caused the fire.

Fire crews worked well into Friday morning knocking down stubborn hot spots.

"Basically what we call surround and drown, we are just going to flood the whole thing with water and make sure there is no heat signatures at all," said Lt. Brittney Garner with Travis Co. ESD 1.

Video taken shortly after Lago Vista fire crews arrived around midnight showed large flames coming out of the roof.

Before the fire started, several people were inside playing poker. Kimberly Rogers, who ran the weekly game, told FOX 7's Rudy Koski a customer spotted the fire.

"He said y'all have got to get out of here, this place is on fire, there's smoke up stairs get out of here, everyone get out of here. We left everything as is, everything was left as is, we left went outside and and that was it, we watched it burn," said Rogers.

No one was hurt during the escape. Johnny Sunday was in a restroom at the time. He thought something else was going on because the scene was so chaotic.

"I thought the commotion I heard was somebody fighting at the poll table and so I finished up my business and went out there expecting to see a fight and a guy was saying hey the building is on fire everybody needs to get out," said Sunday.

Investigators believe the fire started on the second floor. Lingering smoke from what was a business office and bedroom could still be spotted twelve hours after the fire broke out.

New owners purchased the location about a year ago. There was a lot of anticipation in Lago Vista for a big summer at the restaurant.

The night spot was originally a single family home. It was converted into a deli several years ago and quickly became a local favorite.

Ben Whitewell left Mojo's about two hours before the fire and said it will be missed.

"It's a pretty big loss, it's not a big town so there isn't a lot of places to go for entertainment. They had just opened back in July so they didn't even have a full year yet, and summer coming up, with all that knocked out now, it is a pretty big loss," said Whitewell.

It's believed that the owners had insurance. It's not known if they plan to rebuild the local landmark.