Photo by Alan Olson The Wheeling Fire Department has determined that the fire that destroyed Avenue Eats was accidental.

A Nov. 1 fire that destroyed the Avenue Eats restaurant in Wheeling and displaced two tenants has been ruled accidental in nature, according to the Wheeling Fire Department.

A short statement sent out Thursday by the fire department said surveillance video from outside the building showed a “heat source” emanating from the exterior of the structure, located at 1201 Valley View Ave. “The fire was not suspicious in nature,” the fire department ruled.

When city firefighters arrived at the scene early Nov. 1, heavy fire and smoke was seen from the back of the structure and the roof.

Support for the restaurant’s owner — Lara Graves — and the two tenants has been strong since the early Sunday morning fire destroyed the building. Three separate GoFundMe pages — one for the restaurant, and one each for the two tenants that lived above it — brought in almost $29,000 from the community.

Avenue Eats received the bulk of that — $18,339 as of Thursday, from 300 donors. One of the tenants received $7,394, while the other received $3,115.