An early morning fire on Saturday destroyed Polo Pizza & Deli in Hempstead.

Owner Polo Leyes said one of his employees called him in the morning and said there was lots of smoke when he tried to enter through the front door. He called 911 and firefighters soon arrived to battle the blaze.

Leyes was at the scene all day trying to clean up what remains of his business. He told News 12 Long Island that the deli is a total loss inside.

Leyes said he has been in the restaurant and food business for over 20 years. He opened the deli on the corner of North Franklin and West Columbia Street in January.

"I’ve got like 10 people working with me, and they don’t have a job now. I feel sad,” he said.

The owner of the business next door, Amanda's Jewelry, said it also sustained damage from the fire.

Investigators were still trying to determine a cause of the fire as of Saturday evening.