KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. — On Saturday night, Pigman's Bar-B-Que owners Richard Bruce and Top Palmer got a call that no business owner wants to receive: a part of their building was on fire.
"You think about the 20 years that you've been in business, and it's like he said (Top), it's going up in smoke, and we were just in shock for a while," said Bruce.
"Standing there, it looked like we were finished, for lack of a better word. It was nerve-wracking, you're just sitting there in shock," said Palmer.
News 3 arrived at the restaurant Saturday night as fire crews had contained the fire. For 41 years, Pigman's has been in business; Bruce and Palmer have owned it for the last 20. What makes it even harder is for this to happen just as the summer tourism season has kicked off.
"That is definitely on our mind. The timing couldn't be worse — we're on the cusp of our busy time here in the Outer Banks. That is overwhelming just to think about," said Bruce.
The silver lining is that nobody was hurt, and crews were able to contain the fire as best as possible.
"The fire department said this could have been a thousand times worse. So we're gonna hang our hat on that and consider ourselves somewhat lucky," said Palmer.
Since the news broke, the owners have been overwhelmed by the amount of support they have received from near and far.
"It hits you in the feels to know people care that much and care that much about your business. People talking about their memories at Pigman's and stuff like that, it is what is getting us through right now," said Palmer.
"What we've experienced so far, the highs and lows, is just an overwhelming response from the community. We've heard from people as far as New Jersey who have reached out to us that they really want us to get back open, and we're hopeful that we can do so as soon as possible," said Bruce.
That journey to reopen starts now, and though it's too early to tell how soon that will be, the owners have high hopes that it will be sooner rather than later.
"What would be really amazing, if we could get open by July 4. Celebrate America, and celebrate each other and the town for all their support with a nice barbecue sandwich," said Bruce.
As reality has set in, the owners know that they have the community's support for what they need moving forward.
"Twenty years in business has prepared us for a tragedy like this. We have a lot of hope that Pigman's will be better than ever once we reopen," said Bruce.
"Like Richard said, it prepares you for this, and it helps you put things in perspective. You realize what is important — it's the people that work here, it's the people that come and eat lunch here and dinner here," said Palmer.
Pigman's owners encourage the community to continue to monitor their Facebook page for updates on this journey to reopen.
The cause of the fire has not been released, and the investigation remains ongoing.
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