A fire in the Lambton County town of Wyoming has heavily damaged a well-known restaurant.

The blaze at Athena’s Diner on Wyoming’s main thoroughfare, Broadway Street, broke out around 6 a.m. Thursday.

Plympton-Wyoming Fire Chief Steve Clemens, says a passerby noticed smoke and flames coming from the roof of the building.

By the time the first crews arrived a restaurant employee was on scene and unlocked the doors to give firefighters access.

Although the blaze was brought under control within minutes, the interior damage was reportedly substantial.

Clemens says it is estimated at $150,000.

Athena’s opened just six months ago, after the current owners, Tom Stoukas and Crystal Earle, took it over from a previous operator, who’d run it for 40 years.

They renamed it after their one-year-old daughter, “I’m just devasted”, Earle says.

Stoukas says the couple, who’d invested 'tens of thousands' of dollars into the operation, vow to re-open once the fire investigation is complete.

They were insured.

More than 40 firefighters from three departments responded to the blaze. Oil Heritage Road was closed temporarily at Niagara Street due to the fire.

No one was injured.

A cause has yet to be determined and the investigation continues.