Burned-out barbecue joint leaves locals feeling empty

Malia Spencer

Thursday, Aug. 14, 2003 | 9:36 a.m.

Rick Laspaluto and his lunch companion were disappointed to see the yellow fire tape surrounding what was left of H&H Bar-B-Q and More. Laspaluto, a local financial consultant, had been bragging to his friend for weeks about the southern barbecue, but a Wednesday morning fire has closed the restaurant indefinitely.

"What a bummer," Laspaluto said. He added that he was hoping this wasn't the fire he saw on the news that morning.

"They had the best smothered pork chops," he said. He asked the small group that had gathered in the parking lot for any decent substitutes nearby but was told there weren't any.

The three-alarm blaze that gutted H&H Bar-B-Q and More was ruled accidental by Las Vegas fire officials Wednesday afternoon. It appeared that a burner on a stove was left on and that ignited cooking grease that had accumulated on the stove's hood, said Tim Szymanski, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman.

Firefighters responded about 5:30 a.m., when flames became visible through the roof, Szymanski said. It is believed that the fire smoldered for hours before breaking through the roof.

The restaurant had a fire-extinguishing system in the stove's hood, but the grease-fed fire was too much, Szymanski said. It took 75 firefighters about an hour to put out the blaze.

The family-owned restaurant began as a street vending business before moving to its current location at 910 N. Martin Luther King Blvd. four years ago and has been a popular Las Vegas eatery.

Charlene Motz, manager for two years, said owner Hank Black was taking the loss especially hard.

"This was his baby," she said.

Black had few words to say Wednesday afternoon as he watched fire crews clean up the charred remains of his restaurant.

"It's tough, I tell ya. It's hard to accept," he said.

He added that he wasn't sure if the family would rebuild in this location. It is up to the company that owns the building, he said. In the meantime the business will continue to cater events.

Motz said everything was lost except a mobile barbecue pit that they will use for catering.

"We'll have to drive up to the spot and start cookin'," she said. "We lost everything today."

Motz said the restaurant had a loyal following of customers and is irreplaceable.

"Who could I send people to?" she said, referring to her conversation with Laspaluto.

Motz and other employees gathered in the parking lot to watch the cleanup effort. One woman remarked that she lost both her jobs that morning, her job at H&H and her job as a hairdresser in the neighboring Yesterdays Hair and Nail.

Both businesses were destroyed. Fire officials estimate $250,000 in damage was done. Szymanski said it is now up to building and safety crews to determine whether or not the building needs to be demolished.

Jamil Nessan, owner of J&D Mini Mart at the other end of the small strip mall from H&H, said he lost everything to smoke and water damage.

"I don't know what's going to happen," he said.

The woman who lost both of her jobs tried to offer a little hope to Motz, Black and other employees.

"Every door God closes he opens up a window," she reminded them.

Employees at the neighboring strip mall also felt the loss of the fire. "It's a tragedy, of course," Debbie, an employee at Sight and Sound Music Center, said. "It was a historical place."

Co-worker Kanesha Shelton added it was sad to see all of the good people whose businesses were affected.

"They (H&H) came a long way. It's sad to see it end like that," Shelton said. "A lot of soul was lost."