A West Alabama Restaurant Goes Up In Flames, No Injuries Reported

REFORM, AL. (WCBI)- A popular restaurant in Reform, Alabama went up in flames on Wednesday morning.

It was just before 8 o’clock when Boss Hogg’s Bar-B-Que restaurant caught fire, causing the building to burn down.

Tables that were once used to serve customers are now burned and filled with debris.

The register that was once used to take money is now charred, and the roof inside the building is caved in.

The devastation also leaves a hole in the owner’s heart.

“Losing this restaurant is just like losing everything I got because this is my pride and joy and I love what I’m doing,” said Wilmur Davis, owner of Boss Hogg’s Bar-B-Que.

Davis said he and his brother arrived at the restaurant at 7:30 in the morning to prepare for business as usual.

“After I got here this morning my brother always keeps my ribs in there for me, so I started cleaning my ribs,” said Davis.

His brother went to the back to start up the grill.

Once he finished up with that, his brother then came back inside to help Davis with the food in the kitchen.

“When he got ready to take the ribs back outside he saw the fire, we saw the fire,” Davis recalled. “He said “Boss, Boss, fire. I went to the back door, we couldn’t get out the back door so we came out the front door, and we went around to the side and it was up in flames.”

Thankfully, Davis and his brother were both able to safely make it out of the burning building and call for help.

Davis said strong winds got a hold of the fire causing it to spread from the grill onto the building.

“We’ve been doing the same routine ever since we’ve been coming in here and that’s just something that happened this morning that never happened before,” the restaurant owner expressed.

Becoming a chef is something Davis has always dreamed doing.

In fact, he said cooking is his passion.

Boss Hog’s Bar-B-Que has been a staple in West Alabama for nearly 20 years.

Despite his establishment being a total loss, the Reform native said he has plans to rebuild and continue serving the people in his hometown.

“It makes me feel bad because I’ll start crying because I’m kind of weak when it comes down to something like this, I’m weak,” said Davis. “I don’t mind telling people that if it ain’t never happen to you you don’t know how I feel.”

Wednesday’s fire remains under investigation.