Overnight fire breaks out at Big D’s Bar-B-Que Barn in Myrtle Beach

Investigators are still searching for the cause of a fire that burned a long-time barbecue restaurant overnight Wednesday.

Fire burned Big D’s Bar-B-Que Barn off George Bishop Parkway early Wednesday morning, resulting in a total loss of the property. The popular eatery has operated at that location since 1982. Kay Davis, wife of owner Russell Davis, said Wednesday it was too soon to say whether the restaurant there would be rebuilt.

“Our customers and friends have been a blessing to us. There’s a lot of negative out there on social media sometimes, but it’s times like this you see how much people really do care,” Kay Davis said, adding she noticed an outpouring of support on social media.

An Horry County police officer called in the fire about 2:30 a.m., and firefighters from Horry County Fire Rescue responded and found a working fire with flames licking the building when they arrived, according to Lt. Julius Graham with HCFR.

HCFR firefighters were assisted by Myrtle Beach Fire Department in extinguishing the big blaze, and no injuries have been reported, Graham said.

Crews were still on scene about 8 a.m. Wednesday, and curious onlookers rode by and snapped photos of the devastation with cellphones.

Investigators on scene were working in the burnt heart of the building to determine the cause, and it was too soon to pinpoint the origins of the fire, said James Cyganiewicz, deputy fire investigator with HCFR.

“Right now we’re not finding anything that’s suspicious. We’re still trying to work on the cause, and at this time we don’t suspect any foul play” Cyganiewicz said.

Investigators also had yet to calculate the cost of the devastation.

“There was a lot of fire. A lot of damage,” Cyganiewicz said. “It’s a shame. Any time a business burns, it’s a shame.”

Big D’s has been at the George Bishop Parkway location since 1982 and has long been a local’s favorite, renowned for their buffet, barbecue, and fried chicken.

The restaurant has garnered high marks for popular travel and review websites, like http://Yelp.com and http://Tripadvisor.com where it’s received four out of five stars.

Davis said she and her husband got a call about the fire about 2:30 a.m. and both headed to the business.

“It was a shock. It’s really not something you expect,” she said.

Davis, who was working at the couple’s Conway location Big D’s BBQ Trough, said the income from that establishment, which opened in 2013, will help.

Davis wanted to thank everyone for their support and said she hoped customers would frequent the Conway location. She said some employees from the Myrtle Beach restaurant would be worked into to doing shifts in Conway.

Davis said the loss would be tough for their employees, especially with the Christmas season right around the corner.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 7:20 AM with the headline "Overnight fire breaks out at Big D’s Bar-B-Que Barn in Myrtle Beach."