A Gwinnett County restaurant reopened its doors on Thursday a year after a lightning strike hit the building.
Sonny’s BBQ on Duluth Highway welcomed back customers for the first time since June 2024.
“With the fire, everything in the building had to be replaced. The smoke damage was intense. Fire department got here in five minutes. They couldn’t see inside the building when they got here,” general manager Stan McPhail told Channel 2 at the reopening.
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We first reported on the fire last year. It happened on June 4 around 8 p.m. A customer in the drive-thru window and restaurant staff saw smoke and flames.
Sonny’s BBQ employee Samuel Shelton told Channel 2 Action News about the moments the restaurant caught fire.
“I was at the dumpster and as I come around to go back to the building, I heard a pop. And all of a sudden the lines that go from the pole into the building were just solid red. And then the next thing I know I saw it start smoking real bad,” Shelton said. “And I went to go in the door and it was so smoked up inside I couldn’t go inside. So I went to come around and when I did, it was on fire.”
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The manager called 911 and began evacuating the restaurant. By 8:30, the fire was out.
“This fire demonstrates the importance of managers working with their employees to practice fire escape drills in the workplace,” Capt. Ryan McGiboney said.
Most of the damage happened in the drive-thru area at the back of the restaurant. No one was hurt.
Sonny’s Buford location stayed open while crews worked on the repairs at the Lawrenceville location.
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