Austin's world-renowned Franklin Barbecue suffered $250,000 in damage due to a fire early Saturday.
The Austin Fire Department first reported the fire around 6 a.m.
900 E 11th at Franklin BBQ, second floor is heavily involved, crews going defensive. Austin Fire PIO Smith
— Austin Fire Info (@AustinFireInfo) August 26, 2017
Firefighters quickly brought the fire under control, saying the restaurant itself was salvaged, but the pit area, where the meat is cooked, was damaged.
Franklin's update, fire contained to pit area, restaurant saved with some smoke damage. Cause and damage estimate pending.
— Austin Fire Info (@AustinFireInfo) August 26, 2017
Turns out, the wind had blown an ember from the pits to start the fire.
Franklin BBQ final, cause accidental, wind blown ember from fire pit ignited combustible surroundings. $200k structure $150 content damage.
— Austin Fire Info (@AustinFireInfo) August 26, 2017
Franklin will be closed for a while, but will return.
A fire in our smokehouse this morning has forced us to close. We are not sure when we will reopen but everyone is safe here.
— Franklin Barbecue (@FranklinBbq) August 26, 2017
Much love to the Austin fire department for helping us save the restaurant today. The fire destroyed the smokehouse but we plan to rebuild and reopen asap. We are happy to report that everyone is safe and we feel all the love ❤️ from your texts emails and comments. @austinfiredept A post shared by Franklin Barbecue (@franklinbbq) on Aug 26, 2017 at 12:41pm PDT