A fire that tore through one of Dauphin Island’s most beloved barbecue restaurants over the weekend left its co-owner grieving but determined to rebuild, even as investigators worked to determine what sparked the blaze.
The restaurant, known locally for its rib plates and its pig mascot, was gutted by flames in the early morning hours near the island’s main intersection. Co-owner Corey Moore said he was alerted to the fire by a call to his home in Irvington around 1:15 a.m. Days later, he still had not returned to see the wreckage in person, choosing instead to let state fire investigators complete their work at the scene.
The blaze was one of two fires that broke out on the island within the same early morning window. A separate fire roughly three miles away gutted four houses on Sandpiper Street. One resident died of an apparent heart attack after trying to remove belongings from his burning home. Investigators with the state Fire Marshal’s office have been examining both scenes, and arson has not been ruled out in either case.
Moore, who has helped run the barbecue restaurant with his business partner for nearly four years, said it was difficult to imagine anyone intentionally targeting the business, which he described as having built a loyal following over time. “The more we did, the more the people liked it,” he said, adding that he wanted fire investigators to determine the cause conclusively. “I’d hate to think that as good as I am to people that you’re just going to come in and burn me out.”
The loss came on the heels of another personal hardship for Moore, whose mother had died recently. Despite the timing, he said the outpouring of support from the community had been overwhelming, with more than 600 calls from friends, family and longtime customers, some of whom offered to help fund a new building.
“It’s touching to know that so many people actually cared for the business,” Moore said. “I feed off of what the public tells me, and want to thank everyone that has supported me from the beginning.”
Moore, who has also served as the island’s building inspector since 2009, said getting to know the Dauphin Island community over the years was part of what drove him to open the restaurant in the first place. He said he intends to stay away from the site until investigators finish their work, in part so there’s no question about what happened.
Looking ahead, Moore said he hopes to have the restaurant rebuilt and reopened by the following summer. “I can’t wait for it to be a hot spot again,” he said, “no pun intended.”