A beloved Hilton Head BBQ restaurant burned last summer. Here’s the plan to rebuild
When The Smokehouse restaurant went up in flames this past summer, firefighters and owner Jerry Leonard considered the building “a total loss.”
Now Leonard has applied to the Town of Hilton Head Island to rebuild the barbecue restaurant on the same land where it burned.
The plan he has for the site is wildly different from its predecessor, which was built in the 1970s as a warehouse. The new proposal includes a two-story restaurant with outdoor patios, the reclaimed outdoor fireplace and a promise for a rooftop bar. The exterior of the restaurant, although preliminary and subject to change, appears modern with glass and metal accents.
“We hope to salvage iconic elements of the old Smokehouse to connect the new restaurant to its past,” architect Joe DePauw of Parker Design Group wrote to the design review board, which heard the application Tuesday afternoon.
The proposal for the 7,515-square-foot restaurant features three patios and an outdoor plaza behind the building for guests to wait. DePauw’s application also mentions a second phase of construction that will include a rooftop bar and dining area.
The fire started near the back electrical panel around 6 a.m. on June 9 and burned for several hours. The fire caused the restaurant’s ceiling to collapse on the dining room, and fire crews had to break a hole in the roof to get to the network of wooden supports that were feeding the blaze.
Town Fire Marshal Joheida Fister said Tuesday that although the department has confirmed the electrical panel was the start of the fire, the department has not found a specific cause. The investigation into the fire is being carried out by the company that insured the building, as is common in fires that are ruled accidental.
The Smokehouse has been off Palmetto Bay Road since 2010, when it moved from a location on Pope Avenue near Coligny Circle, according to previous reports from The Island Packet.
Restaurant fires on Hilton Head Island
The Smokehouse fire was similar to the fire that destroyed The Crazy Crab at Jarvis Creek in March 2018 in the way it spread to the building’s attic.
Although that fire was related to cooking, it took several hours to extinguish and caused smoke damage throughout The Crazy Crab.
The electrical issues are similar to those experienced at the north-end Starbucks that burned in January 2018, Town Fire Chief Brad Tadlock said.
“A big part of it is that our buildings are older, a lot of them go through renovations and additions,” Tadlock said of fires with similar causes on the island.
Leonard, The Smokehouse’s owner, said in June he had renewed appreciation for fire rescue after he watched crews fight his restaurant’s fire.
“We’ve all seen fires,” he said. “But when you see guys in heavy fire equipment going into your building, it changes the whole thing. They’re willing to die for you and your property.”
This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 4:45 AM.
