Fire damages Red Bridges Barbecue in Shelby

SHELBY, N.C. — It’s unusual to see a closed sign on the door at Red Bridges Barbecue heading into the weekend but the popular Shelby restaurant was damaged by an electrical fire on Thursday night.

On Friday, Channel 9′s Ken Lemon went to the restaurant on East Dixon Boulevard to see the damage and talk to the owners about their plans to reopen.

Owner Natalie Ramsey, granddaughter of founders Red and Lyttle Bridges, credits one of their cooks who is also a firefighter with helping to prevent worse damage.

Ramsey says when the fire started, the cook stayed calm and made sure the fire department got there fast.

She said when she got the call about the fire, her heart dropped.

Restaurant returns after lengthy hiatus

“It’s one of those things. This is my whole life, my world. It instantly broke my heart,” she said.

Once she got to the scene, she said things were in much better shape than she had feared. She said flames burned through the ceiling and eventually the roof of the smokehouse but did not spread to the dining room.

She said since the cook was there and because of the firewall between the smokehouse and the dining area, there was very little damage in the restaurant.

“If it wasn’t for him, this place would be burned down all the way,” Ramsey said.

The iconic Shelby restaurant had caught fire twice before before Ramsey took over.

In fact, 12 years ago Ramsey says they had a similar fire and the same person she credits for saving the family business on Thursday was working on that day too.

“The good Lord was taking care of us like he always does,” she said.

Despite the restaurant and kitchen not being damaged by the fire, Red Bridges is still temporarily closed. They’re working to get the smell of smoke out of the dining room.

“I have had handfuls of restaurants reach out, ‘Do you need my freezer, do you need my cooker, what can I do,’” she said. She appreciates all the support.

She says with the help from others, she can reopen as early as Wednesday while crews work on repairing the smokehouse.

Bridges has been in operation for almost 80 years and has consistently appeared on “Best Of” lists in publications such as USA Today, Southern Living, Our State, and Garden and Gun.

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