Fire Recovery at Sonny Bryan's

Update: According to their Facebook page, the Original Sonny Bryan's will reopen Friday, 10/7 at 11:00 am.

9/26: Contractors and insurance adjusters were milling around Sonny Bryan’s parking lot this morning. The back side of the building was splayed open in the bright sunlight, and the smell of a spent fire hung in the air that was very much unlike the hickory smoke that generally emanates from the building. Discussions of reestablishing power to the building and roof repairs were quickly followed up by the arrival of the industrial cleaning crew’s bright yellow van at 11:00 to clean out the interior. A focused and organized effort was already underway just twelve hours after the fire broke out. No cause was given for the fire, but the Star Telegram reports that there was a possible witness.





The stench of fire was less pronounced inside since much of the flames had been stopped by a concrete block wall. Workers were already up on the roof surveying the damage there. “Baron of Beef” and general manager Dave Rummel said that they hope to be open back up in three or four days but didn’t offer any concrete information. Pegasus News has their full statement. With the knowledge that City of Dallas permits will be required for some of the electrical repairs and with inspections required by the Health Department for reopening, my guess is that is very optimistic, but we’ll all see after the weekend.

WFAA Video

This venerable spot for BBQ pilgrims in Dallas is the second barbecue joint to go up in flames in the Metroplex. The previous night, a Dickey's location in Flower Mound also went up in smoke. One website even jokingly refers to the happenings as possible BBQ terrorism, and on Twitter a tongue-in-cheek reference was made to possible arson at the hands of the BBQ Snob. Just days ago I applauded the city of Dallas for not choosing either of these names for their best of BBQ pick in the Dallas Observer. No matter my lack of affinity for their smoked meat, this is a Dallas treasure that we'll all be happy to see back in business.

- BBQ Snob