Pasadena, Florida - The luck of the Irish was not with a popular Saint Petersburg restaurant that caught fire on the biggest money-making weekend it will have all year.
A fire broke out in the kitchen of the Horse and Jockey pub around 3a.m. Sunday morning.
"I don't know what happened, but it's pretty bad in there in the kitchen. The ceiling is trashed. We've got some good people working on it now," said owner Lee Doyle.
Fire officials say the flames caused significant damage to the pub utilities, which means it will not be able to capitalize on one of the busiest weekends of the year - Saint Patrick's Day.
Word has already spread to those who run other local Irish pubs, who say it's a tragedy to have something like this happen as such an important time of the year.
"Terrible feeling to lose your business any day, but especially on one of the more important weekends for an Irish pub, it's got to be devastating," said Patrick Clark, manager of MacDinton's in Downtown St. Petersburg.
Clark said customers had stopped by his establishment and discussed the fire at Horse and Jockey will having a drink.
Doyle, owner of the Horse and Jockey, hired an emergency cleanup crew to start repairs.
Investigators are looking into what sparked the fire.