JONESBORO, GA — A Clayton County business owner is picking up the pieces after a devastating fire destroyed her smoke shop over the weekend.

Genese Chrispin, who has operated her store along Highway 85 in Jonesboro for the past seven years, says she was shocked when she received the call early Friday morning alerting her to the fire.

“The operator told me it’s a fire, I’m like a fire?? I’m like what? And I kind of went blank,” Chrispin said.

The fire not only gutted her business, but also damaged a neighboring dry cleaning business in the same strip mall. Chrispin said she had never heard of any previous fires at the location and was stunned by the destruction.

“I thought I was in a movie; like this doesn’t look real,” she said.

Chrispin says the business was her lifeline, and everything she had was invested in it. Now, she’s hoping to rebuild and has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help recover from the loss.

WSBs Ashley Simmons contributed to this story