Boulevard, Texas – Francesca Watson invested her life savings into her beloved art studio, The Mary, on the Boulevard.
However, on Saturday morning, her alarm alerted her to an unexpected nightmare.
“I pulled up our security camera and I saw the fire and the smoke. So I called 911,” Watson said.
When she arrived, the building was covered in smoke. The aftermath of the fire shows little hope for her art studio.
In a Facebook video, Watson said the fire started in her studio and “appeared to be electrical in nature.”
“This has nothing to do with the restaurant next door. The fire started in our studio,” she said. “It’s a total loss.”
The restaurant next door was also heavily damaged.
According to a Facebook post from Verde Bistro, it will be closed until further notice.
“This business represents our entire life’s savings. We put it all here so we don’t have any savings, but we’re going to have a roof over our heads and food on our table,” Watson said. “They are raising people. And I only care about them.”
Rhonda Zunker with the Boulevard Spring Branch Chamber of Commerce is coordinating assistance for more than a dozen people who work in art studios and restaurants.
“If we can help them with immediate needs and, you know, give them a little bit of money until they’re re-employed,” Zunker said.
Some restaurants have offered to give workers temporary jobs until business reopens.
Watson’s pet store said their cat died in the fire.
KSAT contacted the Bulverde Spring Branch Fire Department for information about the fire and has not heard back.
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