OCEAN CITY, Md. - On Thursday night a fire broke out in the kitchen at Hooper's Crab House.
Royette Shepherd, the owner of Hooper's said it happened right at the dinner rush hour.
"You can imagine this whole entire restaurant, every table had food and more food all over it and people just had to get up and leave when we realized there was a fire," Shepherd said.
The restaurant was evacuated and no one was hurt and Shepherd said she's relived nothing else went wrong.
"It would've been so much worse had we not been here, had it started during the night, it would have been a tragedy," Shepherd said.
Hooper's is closed for business due to repairs in the kitchen and Amanda Cameron, a longtime visitor to Ocean City said it was a shock when she tried to go to her favorite restaurant in town.
"We pull up into the parking lot, we park we're walking up and my husband reads the sign saying sorry, we're closed, we'll be open tomorrow," Cameron said. "I told my husband, I looked at him and I was like I wanted to cry, so disappointed."
The restaurant being closed for a day and paying to repair the restaurant isn't what Hooper's expected. But Shepherd said there's so much to be grateful for like the support of her community and that her restaurant is still standing.
"I pretty much know that there are mountains in life you have to climb," Shepherd said. "It's just how you climb, that's what makes it easier or harder for you."
Hooper's said they'll be back open for business on Saturday, August 5 for their regular hours.