Co-owners of Minneapolis restaurant torched by rioters: 'We have invested our whole lives into it'

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Minneapolis restaurant owners on business destruction from riots

Town Talk Diner and Gastropub owners Kacey White and Charles Stotts speak out.

The owners of a historic Minneapolis restaurant that was destroyed by rioters last week told "Your World" Monday that the loss of years worth of work was "hard to swallow."

Kacey White and Charles Stotts, the owners of the Town Talk Diner & Gastropub, told host David Asman that on Thursday morning, "one of our staff happened to be on their bike and went past it and saw that the windows were blown out and the water suppression system was on."

"It had clearly been looted," Stotts explained. "We went out there and checked out the whole scene. It was a mess. It was horrible. But we figured a way to get all boarded up...clean it up and put it back together. And then come out Thursday night, the riot happened again and this time they burnt it to the ground."

White, who cooks with Stotts at the restaurant, said she watched the restaurant burn on the news.

"I am a restaurant owner and a cook," she explained. "We lost our restaurant. George Floyd lost his life. All I know is that the community as a whole is at a huge loss right now for so many things."

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A visibily emotion Stotts added, "We have invested our whole lives into it. We both have been cooking for what feels like forever. You know, every blood, sweat, tear ... 80-hour work week."

He added that the restaurant was the "true definition of a small family-owned" business.

"You pour everything into it, and the benefits were certainly worth it. Now," he said, "it is just hard to swallow that she's gone."

While the future is uncertain for Stotts and White, they are sure of one thing:

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"Cooking and running restaurants is in my  DNA. That's what we do," Stotts said. "Can we lock in and say that we are going to put another restaurant in that area? That area is years out in work and development..." he explained.

"We have a lot of things to do to button this up on our end, and then, we move forward," Stotts vowed. "I am born and raised in Minneapolis. I know its gonna be here somewhere."

As riots and violence continue across the country, Stotts and White told Asman they are hoping to "turn the page and start to heal as quickly as possible," but the unrest "isn't allowing the healing process to begin."

Fox News' Talia Kaplan contributed to this report.