When a Favorite BBQ Place Goes Up in Smoke…

The initial scene photographed by the neighbor who heard the explosion. Photo by Tim Searchfield in The (Southern Pines, NC) Pilot.

 
A barbecue place on fire captures everyone’s attention and is the top news in a small community. In Carthage, N.C., a town of slightly more than 2,000, the favored Pik-n-Pig was destroyed overnight when a fire broke out early on Sunday, May 30, 2021. 

Firefighters work before dawn to put out the fire. Photo: Carthage Fire & Rescue.

Pik-n-Pig was one of my local favorite spots. (See an initial post here.) It was a place to savor slowly smoked barbecue cooked over hot coals in the traditional way. It was also where I took out-of-town company who wanted to have a real North Carolina barbecue experience. Nothing was more authentic than Pik-n-Pig, even though being located next to an active runway make it seemed like it was a gimmick made for a TV special. 

A photo of the entrance that I took in 2020.

Later in the morning when the fire had been extinguished, the owners posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page how devastating the destruction was. Soon, more than 1,000 people had clicked the “sad” emoji (no one clicked “like), more than 600 shared the post, and over 350 posted comments about how important the restaurant was to them and expressed their sadness. A Go Fund Me page was started by the community with an initial goal of $20,000. When it was quickly reached in a day as donations of up to $1,000 were contributed, the goal was raised to $40,000.

Damage is clearly evident in the early morning light. Photo: Carthage Fire & Rescue.

When barbecue is cooked slowly over hot coals, the risk of unintended consequences is always present: hot grease here, flare-ups there, floating cinders that can ignite anything flammable. Even after the cooking is over, danger can lurk undetected for hours. The Carthage Fire Chief estimated that 75 percent of the restaurant was on fire when the first firefighters arrived at 3:45 a.m. 

The fire caused extensive damage to Pik-n-Pig. Photo: Patrick Priest via WRAL.com.

The restaurant had survived more than a year of the 2020-21 pandemic restrictions. Inside service was suspended for a while, and it relied on takeout orders and later outside seating to stay in business. Now that restaurant limitations have ended in this area, the dedicated local following had been returning there in numbers that seemed greater than before the pandemic. Pik-n-Pig was appreciated that much.

Several hours later, the restaurant's property is secured by the firefighters. Photo: Carthage Fire & Rescue.

When a favorite BBQ place goes up in smoke, the whole community comes together. It tells stories about when they had been there and how important the food was to them, children blow kisses for good luck that the place will reopen, fundraising efforts start to provide seed money for the business to recover — and everyone mourns the loss. 

An aerial view shows that the fire spared little from destruction. Photo: Patrick Priest, Sandhills Sentinel.

Barbecue is more than simply food. It brings people together too.

My barbecue plate with two sides and a corn muffin last year when only outside dining at Pik-n-Pig was available.