Twenty-one-year-old Bob Towne had just put on his gray Brauerhouse tavern T-shirt with the words “Hey Ho Let’s Go” and “Gabba Babba Hillside” on Tuesday morning when he found out the venue burned down overnight.

Towne, a guitarist and singer, and his Villa Park-based punk band, Brown Town, have played at Brauerhouse for the past three years.

“This was the best place to play at because it drew a good, local crowd,” he said.

At noon Tuesday, a steady flow of patrons were still coming and going by foot, bicycle and car to see the destroyed building at 57 N. Hillside Drive, near the Eisenhower Expressway and less than a mile west of Wolf Road. A single firetruck continued to hose down the smoldering rubble. The beige brick facade remained, though charred through near the window, with a shriveled Old Style sign hanging.

Firefighters, who responded to the blaze at about 2:30 a.m., were not immediately available for comments.

Two FedEx Hillside employees stopped by on their lunch break and recalled all the celebrations they attended there for co-workers as long as 20 years ago, when the venue was Baa Baas under previous ownership.

“We had my surprise 25th birthday party here,” Jayme Sheahan, 42, of West Chicago.

Other former patrons raved about the good food — including the dozens of hamburger toppings available, cracker crust pizza and chicken and cheese quesadillas.

Damage estimates were not available as of press time.