Noelle Alviz-Gransee
The Kansas City Star
(TNS)
An iconic Missouri general store in the Ozarks was destroyed in an early Sunday morning blaze, firefighters said.
Several fire departments were called just before 2 a.m. to Scott’s Iconium General Store located at 12770 NE Highway C, just under two hours southeast of Kansas City, according to a Facebook post from the Iconium Fire Department.
Firefighters said the walls and roof of the general store are still standing, but the interior was gutted. No one was injured in the fire.
Firefighters returned around 11 a.m. to the scene after the flames rekindled, but the fire was once again put out.
An investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s Office couldn’t immediately determine the cause, but said it’s possible the fire started from an electrical malfunction or in the fireplace, according to the post.
Co-owners Shannon and Nikki Tucker have owned the store since 2012 after buying it from Ginger and Wayne Scott, whose parents bought the store in 1946.
The establishment is popular for serving Peach Nehi ice cream floats, sometimes up to a thousand in a single day.
Boy Scouts have hiked the mile or so from the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation for decades for the famous floats. On weekends, hundreds of Scouts, parents and siblings— at times more than a thousand — gather at Scott’s store for food and ice cream.
The store was originally built in 1896 but had several additions since then, according to the Facebook post.
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