Construction workers cut a whole in a steel beam Tuesday afternoon before hooking onto it and pulling it out of the rubble that was the Restaurant Warehouse. — Matt Peterson/matt.peterson@austindailyherald.com

Before Restaurant Warehouse owners Bob and Lisa Nelson could rebuild, they had to tear down.

The Nelsons hired a construction crew to start demolishing the former site of The Restaurant Warehouse Tuesday, after a fire destroyed the building in early August. But as soon as the ground thaws this spring, they hope to start construction on their new building.

Bob said it will take a month to construct, and weather permitting, they hope to be open May 1.

A construction worker knocks down a wall at the Restaurant Warehouse in Austin Tuesday afternoon. A new building is planned to go up in the spring.

The new structure will be about 8,000-square feet, considerably smaller than the previous 12,000-square foot warehouse.

The demolition will take about a day and half, and the cleanup and leveling the site will take about a week.

The Restaurant Warehouse will cater to restaurants and businesses, while The Kitchen Warehouse — which moved to Oak Park Mall in September because of the fire — will remain at the mall and serve home-based customers.

According to Fire Chief Mickey Healey, the fire was caused by an electrical issue. In August, Healey said the fire was started by “deficiencies in the wiring along with demand of electrical appliances that overloaded an electrical outlet, which then ignited the structure.”

Nelson said in September that the steel roofing structure above where the fire originated received serious damage.

Nelson said the fire was a lesson that one can never have too much insurance; although, the Nelsons will still pay about $100,000 out of pocket for the new building.

—Amanda Lillie contributed to this report.