POWDER SPRINGS - Andy Hunt's dream was to own his own country restaurant, a dream that came true nearly five years ago.

But that dream was engulfed in flames Monday morning, when Hunt's Restaurant in Powder Springs was charred and destroyed by fire.

The fire could not have come at a worse time for Hunt because his mother passed away on Saturday.

"I told my wife I had such a terrible and stressful weekend, and we're not open on Mondays, so I just wanted to sleep in," Hunt said. "So I turned my cell phone down to a low ring, and it rang once, and I ignored it. But the second time it rang, I answered and my mother-in-law was on the other line, telling me the restaurant was on fire."

Hunt said the owner of Dairy Queen across Austell Powder Springs Road was the first to notice smoke billowing from the restaurant and called police.

Hunt said he and his wife, Cindy, immediately left their Dallas home and arrived at the scene of the fire around 9:15 a.m. At that point, Hunt said the restaurant he owned and loved was completely taken over by flames and he knew that there was going to be no saving it.

"I put my life savings into it, everything we had," Hunt said. The damage is estimated somewhere between $75,000 and $100,000, Hunt said.

He and his wife paid insurance on the building for several years, but Hunt said they stopped coverage about a year ago, as the $560 a month payment just became too much with the downfall of the economy.

"I had always wanted to open a restaurant, so we had Hunt's on the Square in Dallas for about 18 months before settling in Powder Springs," Hunt said. "I loved the people, loved the food, loved everything about it."

Hunt said his restaurant would pull in more than 100 customers a day, with Thursdays and Fridays focusing on fresh, fried seafood. All of the recipes used at the restaurant were family recipes.

Cobb Fire spokeswoman Denell Boyd said initial investigations lead the department to believe the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction. Hunt said the malfunction probably began in the roof.

Despite the building being considered a total loss and Hunt's lack of insurance on the property, he said he and his wife hope to rebuild.

"We're going to see what we can do. We have a lot of friends, and many people liked the restaurant. We always had good business, so we're just going to try to pull together and see where we can go from here," Hunt said.

Powder Springs Mayor Pat Vaughn said she hopes Hunt and his wife eventually find a way to re-open the restaurant.

"I went numerous times, and would even order a deep-fried turkey from them each Thanksgiving. They had the best corn muffins in the world," Vaughn said. "I truly hope they rebuild, because people really enjoyed their food and it was always crowded, no matter when you went in there. I just hate that this happened to them, because they're sweet, hard-working people. If they don't rebuild, they will be sorely, sorely missed."