The fire was mostly in the wall and ceiling, and no one was hurt, said Chief Kent Hulett.

The fire happened at about 10:30 p.m., when staff were still in the building at 2810 Fifth Ave. S..

“There was smoke coming down in the dining area,” Hulett said. “They couldn’t see where it was coming from.”

Fire crews with thermal imaging cameras were able to locate the hot spot, and found the fire in the wall between the dining area and the kitchen, above the drop ceiling, he said.

Regional Manager Justin Trenkamp said he didn’t know when the restaurant would open again.

“The fire department did a great job of stopping it, and minimizing the damage,” Trenkamp said.

“We were able to stop it in a small area of the dining room, but there’s pretty good smoke damage,” Hulett said. “Obviously we had to cut power to the building.”

The health department will have to certify when it’s OK for the restaurant to re-open, and whether or not the food in the fridges is safe, Hulett said.

MidAmerican Energy was on scene Wednesday morning and restored power to the building.

The fire appeared to start in an electrical junction box, Hulett said.

The fire department estimated $35,000 in damage.

Fifth Avenue South in front of the building was closed for a period of time as the fire department ran hose lines to a hydrant across the street.

The department ran two attack lines to get the fire under control. The fire was controlled by 10:45 p.m., and the last unit cleared the scene at 1:10 a.m., Hulett said.

“The good news is that there was staff still in the building,” he said. “If this was after hours it could have been a total loss.”