MEMPHIS, Tenn. — How soon a well-known Memphis barbecue joint and long time family owned restaurant will reopen is unclear after it caught fire.
The fire started in the back of the Cozy Corner restaurant Thursday.
A manager said although there’s a lot of damage, they’re determined to reopen.
The Cozy Corner has been a staple in Memphis for almost 40 years.
“It’s been in our family since August, 1977,” manager Val Bradley said. “My dad owned a restaurant in Denver, and when we moved back here, after living in a few places, he decided to go back into the barbecue business.”
Bradley said her family takes pride in the Cozy Corner, and almost every member of the family is involved in the restaurant in some way.
“My son and my youngest daughter run it. My oldest daughter is a teacher…and she does our banana pudding and the Memphis Mud. My grandchildren…Two of them are just a year old. So they can just wave hi and bye, but they’ll be working too,” she said.
Thursday night, Bradley got a heart wrenching phone call.
“My daughter called. I worked the night shift, so I wasn’t here yet. She said there was a fire,” Bradley said.
Fire officials say the it was started by an electrical malfunction in a back storage room.
There was a lot of smoke and water damage, but Bradley said the most important thing is that no one was hurt.
“As long as everyone was out safely, nothing else would have mattered. We just didn’t want any injuries or deaths or anything,” she said.
Although she’s not sure when they’ll be able to reopen, Bradley said there is no doubt in her mind they will.
“We’ll be back, one way or another,” she said with a smile.