Family loses business in Big Creek fire

BIG CREEK, Miss. (WCBI) – Embers still burn and smoke continues to fill the air almost 48 hours after Sunday morning’s tragic fire that claimed several structures in the town of Big Creek.

The flames didn’t just take a few old buildings, though. They took away pieces of community history as well as one family’s primary source of income.

“It’s not just us losing our business. It’s everyone losing a place to come and be a family,” said Paisley’s Boardwalk Steak House owner, Kim Mitchell.

Mitchell has lost everything.

Less than 48 hours ago Paisley’s Boardwalk Steak House was serving the regulars.

Today Mitchell walks through the ashes– trying to find anything salvageable.

“My mind is just wondering right now what we’re going to do next, where our business is going to go from here. We’ve been here 13 years. It’s not just a steakhouse. It’s a family,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell said she and her husband got a call from their security system around 2:20 Sunday morning.

Unable to see anything on their cameras, they immediately went to check things out.

“When he turned out of our driveway, he saw the glow, and he knew that the steak house was on fire,” said Mitchell.

Like many of the buildings on Big Creek’s Main Street, Paisley’s was nearly one hundred years old, and Mitchell said it had the original electrical wiring.– which is what they assume caused the fire.

“It’s so emotional right now. It’s just… I’ve cried so much that I can’t cry anymore. We don’t know where we’re going from here,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell said the fire is a huge financial loss but it’s also a major historical loss for the entire community.

“Big Creek had a school here, and they had their class reunion here every year. We had all of their, from 1944 on, you know, had all of their pictures of their classmates and their graduation. It was all hung in here… There was a whiskey still in here that was just absolutely gorgeous, and you’ll never be able… there’s no price to put on the historical stuff that was in here,” said Mitchell.

The next few months are sure to be challenging for Mitchell and her family, but in spite of it all, she’s optimistic about the future.

“And we want to continue the family tradition, and we’re going to try to rebuild and make it somewhat like it was, but it will never be like it was because it was just a historical site,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell said there’s no word yet on if Paisley’s Boardwalk Steak House will reopen at a temporary location.