Fire rips through popular Pleasant Hill barbecue restaurant

PLEASANT HILL — A popular barbecue restaurant won’t be in operation anytime soon following a weekend fire that gutted the kitchen and damaged other interiors of the building.

Fire officials with the Contra Costa Fire Protection District said the fire that spread through Slow Hand BBQ began late Sunday night, then appeared to reignite for a time on Monday morning. The restaurant is located in the 1900 block of Oak Park Boulevard.

It was unclear what the future holds for the restaurant.

“We really don’t know whether it can be salvaged or whether it will be able to open anytime soon,” fire spokesperson Lauren Ono said.

A Slow Hand BBQ in Martinez belonging to the same ownership also was closed Tuesday but scheduled to re-open on Wednesday. The owners put a note on the door of the Martinez business informing passersby of the temporary closure.

Public records list Daniel Frengs as the CEO of the stores and John Frengs as the CFO.

According to Ono, the fire originated in a smoker. She said the flames heated the duct system and then spread to the kitchen and other parts inside the restaurant.

“Accidental,” she said. “There were a lot of hidden spaces inside the smoker that became heated.”

Fire crews initially left the scene before returning about 4 a.m. Monday morning to monitor the site. At 7 a.m., Ono said there was a “slight rekindle” to the fire but that crews on the scene put it out.

The fire also affected neighboring businesses, but they all were standing and in operation on Tuesday.