An iconic Arkansas barbecue restaurant was heavily damaged by fire Sunday morning.
James Harold Jones, the owner of Jones' Bar-B-Que Diner in Marianna, was cooking pork in the pit outside the restaurant when the building caught on fire, said Mayor Jimmy Williams, who rushed from church when he heard about the fire.
Williams said Jones wasn't injured in the fire.
"He assured me that's not going to stop him," said Williams. "He's going to fix it up and get back into business soon."
Jones' Bar-B-Que is one of only two Arkansas restaurants that has received a James Beard Award. It is thought to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, Black-owned restaurants in the South. It has been at its current location since 1964.
"Hours are 7 a.m. until the food runs out," according to the restaurant's Facebook page. "There is NO MENU. All Jones BBQ Diner serves is a pork BBQ sandwich on Wonder Bread.”
Fire Chief Terry Sandefer said about 70% of the building was damaged but it’s salvageable.
Sandefer said firefighters arrived at 10:45 a.m. Sunday and were on the scene for about two hours.
"It was hot when we got there,” he said. "It was rolling pretty good. The first we did was try to get it cut it off from the main building."
Read Monday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.