McCoy's Coffee Shop owners believe arsonist burned down their restaurant

FOX26 News met up with Mike Mohammadi outside his family's business, left in rubble after a devastating fire lit up early Thursday morning.

"It's crazy to see nothing left. Everything is burnt. The air conditioner is on the floor. Everything."

Mohammadi says that the building stood at that location on Clovis Avenue and Kings Canyon for 42 years.

His father bought it in 2003.

"The guy works more than anybody I've ever met in my life. Smartest guy I've ever met in my life. He's a beast. He moved here in 75 from a foreign country and he's built quite the empire."

Surveillance video captured the moments' someone took part of that empire down.

"It looked like an individual breaking a window and throwing a ball of fire or some kind of Molotov cocktail or something."

In the video, you can see someone break a window and throw something burning into a dining booth.

That would doesn't light, so the arsonist tries again.

"It just ignited in the front and by the time any sort of suppression system kicked in or the fire department got there, it was just too late."

The video is from 12:26 AM.

Fresno Fire says people started calling 911 at 12:30, and by the time firefighters got there a few minutes later, the building was fully engulfed.

Mohammadi says his wife, especially, is taking things pretty hard.

"We actually met here, 15 years ago or so. We were trying to explain it to my eldest daughter last night. She was very confused as to why someone would do that to us. She's still a little shook up."

He's also worried about how his employees will handle the news.

"We've had some employees here over 20 years, so this is like their second home. That's probably what hurts the most. But we've been grateful - we've had a lot of regulars and different people in the community reach out and show support for us, so it's been very touching."

But as for his father, Mohammadi says he's taking things in stride.

"It's out of our hands now. Nothing we can do. We just turn it into insurance and the landlord and see what the next steps are."

The family owns another McCoy's in Fresno and in one in Selma, plus 7 Café in Clovis.

Mohammadi says his family will be focusing on those stores in the meantime.

If you have any idea who might be responsible for the fire, please call the Fresno Police Department at 559-621-7000.