Maurice’s Pig Park continues to serve hungry customers a week after a fire destroyed the barbecue operations center

WEST COLUMBIA, SC (WI). A week after Maurice’s Piggie Park BBQ headquarters was destroyed in a three-alarm fire, the company reopened its doors at some point from their Midland locations this weekend.

Their three stores, including one next door to the West Columbia fire, are serving customers as they continue to recover.

“We had to rent several smokehouses to smoke the meat, and we had to rent several retrofitted trucks just for storage,” said Maurice President and Co-Owner Lloyd Bessinger. “Our team does an excellent job. It’s hard and everyone is doing the best they can.”

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Bessinger said his family and employees are working around the clock to continue serving their customers.

After a week of assessing the damage, Maurice’s reopened three of its locations on Saturday.

While Bessinger doesn’t yet know how long it will be before all of their locations are up and running again, he says they’ve already started looking for new kitchen space to accommodate barbecue.

“We rented a large kitchen and will do most of our cooking in that,” Bessinger said. “That’s what we’re going to start next week, and that very day.” – Everyday details of barbecue smoking.

Many customers told WIS on Sunday that they were surprised to see the store on Charleston Highway, still intact from the fire, open a week later.

“We were all very happy when we saw the news yesterday that this place would be reopening,” said Columbia resident Justin Crolly. “(Even) with a limited menu we couldn’t tell and everything we usually get is here.”

Tony Moultrie eats lunch at Maurice’s Restaurant on Charleston Highway three times a week. He believes the fact that some businesses are open will take the financial burden off employees.

“Fifty-two people work right between us and headquarters,” Moultrie said. “With the holidays coming up, they have money to spend during the holiday season, so I’m happy about that.”

Bessinger didn’t say how long the entire recovery effort will take, but says people can support them during this time by purchasing sauce and merchandise.

WIS reached out to the West Columbia Fire Department on Sunday to learn more about the progress of the fire investigation and its cause. We haven’t received a response yet.

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