Hot Rod’s restaurant in Waynesburg sustains ‘major damage’ in fire
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Hot Rod’s owner Rodney Phillips holds his hands over his head while surveying the damage at his Waynesburg restaurant.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Firefighters were called to Hot Rod’s House of Bar-B-Que early Thursday for a fire that heavily damaged the restaurant at 46 S. Morris St. in Waynesburg.
WAYNESBURG – A month ago, Rodney and Stephanie Phillips announced they were preparing to sell Hot Rod’s House of Bar-B-Que so they could move south to focus on their teenage son’s bull-riding career.
Now, Rodney Phillips is vowing to rebuild the business after a fire early Thursday heavily damaged the popular Waynesburg eatery.
“We got to get (the restaurant) up and running again,” Phillips said while surveying the damage hours after the fire. “I got to get Hot Rod’s back on the map.”
The restaurant at 46 S. Morris St. sustained “major damage” after a fire that sparked inside a garbage dumpster spread to the rear of the building about 3:45 a.m., Waynesburg-Franklin fire Chief Jeff Marshall said. The majority of the fire damage was located in the bathroom near the bar area, but the rest of the building and restaurant sustained smoke and water damage, Marshall said.
“It was bad,” Marshall said. “(There was) major damage in the restaurant area.”
Marshall said it was too soon to speculate on the cause of the fire, but a state police fire marshal was called to investigate. The fire marshal could be seen taking photos of the burned-out dumpster and black scorch marks on the rear of the brick building.
“It could be numerous things,” Marshall said.
No injuries were reported and no other businesses that adjoin the building were damaged. Fire departments from Jefferson, Carmichaels, Rice Landing and Center Township assisted at the scene, along with medics from EMS Southwest.
The fire comes as both the restaurant’s operators and building owners were trying to jointly sell the business and property.
Rodney and Stephanie Phillips opened the restaurant 13 years ago, first at 68 S. Washington St. before moving to the current location nearly a decade ago.
They told the Observer-Reporter last month they were planning to move south and wanted to sell the business to someone who would continue operating it as a southern barbecue restaurant. John Throckmorton, who owns the building, also told the newspaper his family was looking to downsize and hoped the sale of the building could be packaged with the restaurant.
Those plans appear to have changed with the fire.
As workers pulled debris from inside the building Thursday morning, Rodney Phillips gathered with several people in the rear parking lot looking at the damage. Phillips said they now plan to stay in the Waynesburg area, although it was not immediately known if the building could be salvaged or if the restaurant would have to move to a new location.
“We’re not going anywhere,” he said. “What else can we can do? I have to support my family.”