An early morning fire on March 21 tore through the Miss Cranston Diner on Oaklawn Avenue in Cranston.

Fire Chief William McKenna said crews responded to the scene at approximately 2 a.m. The blaze was under control within an hour, he said, and crews had cleared the scene in roughly two hours.

The diner was closed at the time. McKenna said no one was hurt, although the restaurant’s owner was transported for observation. The building, he said, was “heavily damaged.”

The fire department later confirmed the cause of the blaze was found to have been accidental and that the investigation had concluded.

The diner has been a fixture of the community for decades, and many residents on Friday took to social media to express their dismay over the blaze.

Lori Manni of Cranston recalled the diner as the place her mother and father met while dating and where her father made his marriage proposal.

“That’s how they met…It was adorable to hear,” she said. “It sounded like the place on ‘Happy Days’ – juke box, dancing…It is a shame that another memory of my parents will be gone.”

The family that owns Miss Cranston has said it hopes to rebuild. A second location, Miss Cranston II, is located on Quaker Lane in West Warwick.

(Meri R. Kennedy contributed to this report)