CHICAGO (WLS) — Just two months after opening his first business in Chicago, a young restaurant owner is now forced to temporarily close after a fire.

The fire broke out Saturday morning at Casa Tulum in the city’s South Loop neighborhood.

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It was supposed to be a packed restaurant this weekend inside of Casa Tulum. Instead, owner Aldo Gonzalez is left with costly damages. Repairs are now underway in the kitchen where that fire started.

“Being prepared for the absolute worst,” Gonzalez said. “You never know what could happen.”

In just two month into his first business venture by himself, 21-year-old Gonzalez’s hard work come to life is now faced with a near disaster.

“My parents were already in the restaurant business,” Gonzalez said. “I was working with them since I was a little kid, and I’ve always loved the kitchen… we get packed and there’s a waiting time.”

The owner described the destruction caused by the fire.

“The ceilings came down,” Gonzalez said. “The sprinklers and our cut-off system for the gas contained it… I’m guessing something fell, lit this on fire, and it burned, obviously, this whole section. This is where the fire happened.”

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It started in the kitchen of Casa Tulum in the South Loop Saturday morning , forcing the new restaurateur to temporarily close.

“We were fully booked, today. We had a lot of reservations, a lot of birthday parties,” Gonzalez said. “So, I told my staff come extra early, let’s prepare for the day. And then I wake up to those news and now it’s like, damn.”

What the flames couldn’t reach from the kitchen, smoke did.

“It contaminates everything. So, we have to toss everything out,” Gonzalez said. “There’s a lot of smoke residue throughout the whole restaurant.”

Now it’s, as many entrepreneurs say, it’s back to the drawing board as repairs and cleaning efforts got underway to bring the young dream back to life.

“They’re going to get that cleaned today and tomorrow,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a bump in the road, but it’s something that we can overcome.”

The owner said city inspectors will be there Monday to check out the progress. He hopes to be back up and running sometime this month.