The Little Rock fire marshal declared Three Sam's BBQ Joint a total loss after a fire rolled through the restaurant Monday afternoon, a spokesman for the fire department said.
Owners Sammy and Annette Jones, along with some customers, walked through its gutted remains Tuesday afternoon.
It was still too early to tell what might come next for the Mabelvale restaurant, which first opened in October 2002, the owners said.
"I've never had anything like this happen before; I'm kind of in shock right now," Annette Jones said as she showed the spots where firefighters had poked holes in the ceiling, shining light on the otherwise blackened kitchen.
Standing outside smoking a cigarette, Sammy Jones laughed with regular Larry Miller recalling memories.
"It happens," Jones said. "I feel sorry for the people that come in here; they're hardworking people."
"Everyone from [Pulaski County Sheriff] Doc Holladay, the mayor, any politician, they came in here to eat," Annette Jones said.
Mike Benton, a landscaper from Little Rock, said he had been having lunch at the restaurant for six to seven years before he drove up Tuesday afternoon to find it gone.
"It means a lot because people gather from some of the different areas, and they meet people that live here and work here," Benton said.
Miller and Sammy Jones both said the hamburgers were their favorite thing on the menu. Miller said they were so good that he "always got the double."
"When you had people from out of town come in, and they didn't want to go to a chain barbecue place, you took them here," Miller said.
Sammy Jones owns the building but leases the land from the Union Pacific railroad that runs behind the old wooden restaurant. Jones said that building was grandfathered into zoning restrictions that were put in place along with the railroad, casting doubt about what could be done with the property.
Firefighters received the call at 3 p.m. Monday after a passerby saw smoke coming from the building, Capt. Randy Hickmon said. Eight fire departments responded to the eatery on Mann Road and contained the fire by 4 p.m., he said.
The restaurant was closed at the time of the fire, and no one was reported injured, Hickmon said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but firefighters said they think it was caused by the meat smoker located on the side of the building.
Annette Jones said firefighters stayed long after the last remaining hot spots had been put out, helping the owners salvage decorations and carry pieces of furniture out of the building.
Friends of the Jones' son, Sammy Jr., set up fundraising pages on the website gofundme.com to help the owners.
"We can't thank any of them enough; that's what friends are for," Annette Jones said.