BELLINGHAM, Wash. — One man is missing and at least 20 people are out of work after a fire destroyed a historic Bellingham building on Sunday morning.
A tearful silence hung over the burnt-out building on Monday.
Workers from the Old Independent Coffee House, better known as Tony's Coffee, and the Harris Avenue Cafe looked on in disbelief as customers got the bad news.
"It makes me want to cry," said Rosanne Manning, who had been coming to the two businesses for more than two decades.
Manning was on her way to the cafe when she found out it was gone.
"It's like a family member," Rosanne said, wiping a tear from her eye.
The fire broke out around midnight Sunday morning.
Fire officials said the owner of the cafe, 39-year-old Nathaniel Breaux, is still unaccounted for.
On Monday, fire investigators began looking for him in the debris, but the building is very unstable.
The roof and second floor are collapsed.
Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Hewett said gravity is the only thing holding the building together at this point.
"Wind or something shifting inside the building could cause it to collapse which creates danger for anyone outside and inside, of course," Hewett told KING 5 News.
Coffee shops and cafes often become part of the fabric of a community.
That was certainly the case here.
Now, two local institutions are gone and one of the owners is missing.
"It's awful, just awful," said customer Vicki Day. "This place has just always been here. There are so many stories, so many lives that were touched."
The building dates back 135 years.
It was the oldest continuously occupied commercial building in Fairhaven.
At least 20 people from the cafe and coffee shop are now out of work a week before Christmas.
An online fundraiser has been set up to help workers pay their bills.
"So many people's lives are tied up in this building through business and other things. It's never a good time, but you never want something like this to happen right before Christmas," said customer Devin Champlin.
Meantime, the heart-wrenching search for the missing man continues.
"I hope that resolves itself," Rosanne said. "I hope that we hear something positive."
Investigators are trying to determine how and where the fire started.