3 Employees Survived in Texas Hotel Explosion, Restaurant Owner Statement

The Japanese restaurant Musume is in the basement of the Sandman Hotel. It is part of a group of restaurants in North Texas that are run by Josh Babb. He says that the people who work at his restaurant are "so shaken" but also "so grateful!"

This time, Babb called the I-Team because he was told not to talk on camera during the probe. He has been in what Babb called a "family-run business" since 2007. He is the owner of nine businesses in North Texas. The first Musume is in downtown Dallas.

Texas Hotel ExplosionPhoto byCBS News

He's spent most of the last two days at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, checking on three workers who were getting ready for dinner guests when the explosion happened. He has been to his Dallas office a few times. There were only three people working at the hotel, which was a good thing because the kitchen was closed.

Babb tells the I-Team that two of the workers are no longer in the hospital and are back at home. However, one woman who got burned and broke a rib is still in the hospital and is in stable condition. "I am remaining in touch with our employee's family," Babb said. "From what we know, she is stable." We will always put her care, health, and family first.

The people who work for Babb are said to be very close. They are stressed out about what went wrong. A lot of people have their own ideas, but Babb says he is focused on the families and the investigation.

It took him most of the afternoon to dig through the wreckage and find their cell phones, backpacks, and computers. Afterward, he plans to call each of the more than 40 people who worked at the Fort Worth Musume by name. All of them will be sent to one of his other restaurants in the area.

"Of course, we are doing everything possible to assist the professionals as they investigate the cause as well as working with everyone on our team to ensure they're ok."

Babb says that he runs a small chain of restaurants. It teamed up with the Sandman Hotel to open a diner in Fort Worth six months after the first one opened in Dallas. "We are thankful for the organized professional response from the City of Fort Worth, fire rescue, police and other responding agencies."

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