NEW CANEY, Texas – A barbecue restaurant in New Caney will need repairs after a fire destroyed the smokehouse and damaged the rear of the eatery.
Allen Rhoden, the owner of the Rusty Buckle BBQ Restaurant on Community Drive, said he spent most of Wednesday night cooking holiday meals to deliver on Thanksgiving. Rhoden reportedly smoked at least 60 turkeys and spent Thanksgiving Day delivering them.
Rhoden said he had just finished delivering orders in Forest Cove and was returning to the restaurant to pick up one special order for the Porter Fire Department.
It was just after 4 p.m. when authorities said a driver on the Grand Parkway reported a grass fire just to the south of the Parkway between I-69 and Loop 494. Porter firefighters were responding when additional calls started to come in reporting one of New Caney’s favorite restaurants, the Rusty Buckle, was on fire.
Rhoden started getting calls and quickly pulled over to snap a photo of a large smoke column appearing in the sky north of him. He then rushed to his business.
Watch the interview with Rusty Buckle BBQ Restaurant owner Allen Rhoden:
When firefighters arrived at the scene, they saw heavy flames coming from the smokehouse and LP bottles exploding. They were quickly able to extinguish the blaze but not before it totally destroyed the smokehouse and damaged the rear of the restaurant. The heat also melted the electric meters and the new air conditioning unit outside, officials said.
Firefighters said there was smoke and water damage but officials had stopped the blaze from traveling into the building.
Rhoden said he didn’t have to deliver the meals to Porter as the firefighters were able to take the turkeys home as they left the fire scene.
Rhoden says he plans to reopen his restaurant really soon.
An investigator with the Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office said the fire was caused by the commercial pellet smoker. It was noticed that the front steel door was actually bowed out, officials said. Rhoden plans to contact the manufacturer to try to find out what caused it to explode as it did.