Dante Mussioli says Moozys gutted by early Thursday fire

Fire and heavy smoke gutted moozys in Belmont, Massachusetts, early Thursday morning, leaving the Trapelo Road shop badly damaged after flames spread through the basement. Employee Chris Mahoney saw smoke pouring from the building while driving by for coffee and called 911.

Firefighters later found the fire had become intense enough to bring down the first floor. No one was hurt, and owner Dante Mussioli said he was relieved the building was empty when the fire moved through it.

Trapelo Road at 4:30 a.m.

The fire appeared to start around 4:30 a.m. while the store was still closed, according to the facts provided. Mahoney said he did not want to open the door when he reached the scene and handed a firefighter the key instead. "I didn't want to open the door. No way. I gave the firefighter the key. He opened it and as soon as he opened it, all the smoke come billowing out," he said.

Belmont is about 10 miles west of Boston. Firefighters from several nearby towns came in to help as the smoke and fire worsened inside the shop.

Basement Fire at Moozy's

The fire chief said the flames started in the basement, and several soft serve machines visible through the window were gone after the fire moved through the building. Mussioli said the shop had been built 10 to 11 years ago and described the damage as deeply personal. "It's hard to see that because we built the place 10-11 years ago. It's been my happy place and a happy place for a lot of people for a long time. It's hard to ingest at this point," he said.

He also said, "It's heartbreaking to see it happen. I'm just glad no one was in the building."

Mahoney and Becca Pizzi

Becca Pizzi, Moozy's manager, said the shop has long served local families. "It means everything. We really support our community. We take a lot of pride in helping out. All of the generations that have been coming to our store for so many years," she said.

Pizzi added, "So many families come in and celebrate so many happy beginnings. It's really sad." Mahoney said his daughter also works there. "My daughter works there too," he said. "She's already at home crying. This is her job."

The cause of the fire was not yet known.