CHAMPAIGN — The owner of a popular campus restaurant hit by fire on Wednesday isn’t sure what can be salvaged from his business or what the future holds for it.

"I really don’t know what’s going to happen from here," Matt Mortenson said. "It’s a new experience for me. I’ve been here 29 years, and you don’t expect these kinds of things to happen.

"I’ll have to talk to the insurance company and the landlord to see where we go from here about rebuilding."

Mortenson and other owners of Campustown businesses spent much of Wednesday determining how to proceed after a fire struck 625-627-629 E. Green St., the home of the Zorba’s and Mia Za’s Cafe restaurants and the Pitaya clothing boutique.

Mortenson said he was leaving his Campustown restaurant early Wednesday after paying bills, placing orders and doing other work in his office when he noticed smoke coming out of the roof above the nearby Pitaya clothing boutique store.

"I was in my office in the basement getting my paperwork done and getting the store ready, and came out to go to the bank when I saw the smoke come out of the apartment above Pitaya," Mortenson said.

Mortenson said he immediately dialed 911 and notified neighbors.

"I didn’t realize it was going to be that bad, but it sure turned out bad," Mortenson said. "I went out back and saw some flames and smoke on the other side of the building on the second floor in back of Mia Za’s."

Mortenson said he made sure the manager of Mia Za’s got out of that building safely.

Mortenson said Zorba’s has between 15 and 20 employees.

Zorba’s general manager, Rhiannon Mortenson, who is also Matt Mortenson’s daughter, said her dad called her to tell her about the fire.

"I found out it was a huge deal, so I got dressed and came down here to see what was going on," she said.

Matt Mortenson said he believes responding to the fire might have been more challenging for the fire department if it had not taken place during spring break, when most students were out of town.

"There might have been more trouble with firefighters getting their equipment in place, and I generally see a lot of kids going to class at about 7:45 a.m., so it would have been interesting," he said.

Mia Za’s Cafe owner Bruce Hink said he intends to reopen his business.

"We want to rebuild, but obviously it won’t be for a while," Hink said.

Hink said the restaurant has 30 employees.

Hink said he had been working in the restaurant at 7 a.m. to get a new food item out of the freezer and had gone home before the fire.

Hink said his manager had just opened the restaurant when the fire broke out and called Hink to tell him about it.

Hink said smoke could be seen billowing in the top half of a window on the second floor when he returned.

Tom Sotiriadis, owner of the Pita Pit on the same block at 611 E. Green St., said his building sustained no damage.

"I live a block away and I heard the sirens going off first thing in the morning," Sotiriadis said. "I jumped out of bed, looked out of the window and saw smoke.

"When I ran out of my apartment and looked up the street, the only thing I could see was a street full of fire trucks, first responders, smoke and fire. I knew we were close to the middle of it, so I ran down here to see if things were okay."

Sotiriadis said his business was closed on Wednesday, but he provided food to the emergency personnel.

"Our focus here is to feed and hydrate the first responders and do what we can to give back," he said. "It’s our small token of appreciation. They are putting their life at risk, and this is something we can do to support the community and give back."

Sotiriadis said he hoped to reopen the Pita Pit today.

Dave Kuhl, president and CEO of Freestar Bank, said he was thankful that a firewall separated his bank branch from the three buildings that were on fire.

Kuhl said there was no fire damage to the bank, but there was some smoke and perhaps water damage.

"We survived it pretty well," he said. "The fire department was able to get on it right away and contain it before it spread over to our building. We’re happy we have such a great fire department in Champaign and Urbana."

Kuhl said the bank intends to reopen within the next day or two. Meanwhile, Freestar customers are asked to visit the other branches.

Kuhl said the branch normally has six or seven employees at the branch, but only three were working this week due to spring break.