Two blocks of Railroad Avenue / Georgia Highway 23 in Twin City were blocked for over two hours for a fire at Lew’s Barbeque that caused extensive damage to the old building.

According to Twin City Police Chief, Hank Whiters it started around 10:30 to 11 a.m. A vehicle had crashed into the utility pole in front of Lew’s and caused some wires to come loose and apparently igniting a fire in the seating area of the restaurant.

Using the large ladder truck from Swainsboro, and engine units from Twin City, Firefighters removed large sections of the roof eve on the front side of the old building to gain access to the attic for additional fire suppression. The business was not open, and no one was inside at the time of the accident, officials say no cooking was going on either.

One passerby said she had been sitting in that section of the building for dinner on Friday night. Several people extended concerns over the popular restaurant’s future, saying it would really be missed if it did not reopen.