Rivertown Coffee experienced a fire early this morning but is expected to reopen soon.

Students voted Rivertown Coffee as their favorite coffee shop in the April 14 Students’ Choice issue, but they will not be able to visit the coffee shop until sometime next week, when Owner John Cartwright hopes to reopen.

The fire caused damage to both Rivertown Coffee and the adjacent Shoals Theatre.

“The theory right now is that somebody probably just flicked a cigarette butt down (in a sidewalk grate), and it caught some theatre props on fire,” Cartwright said.

The fire did not cause any structural damage.

 “The biggest damage on our end is that all of our electrical and plumbing is down in the basement which is where the fire was,” Cartwright said.

Cartwright said Rivertown Coffee will be “all right.”