A car plowed through the front of Mr. Barbecue on Peters Creek Parkway Tuesday morning, leaving a gaping hole of jagged glass and cracked bricks.
Andrew Carros, whose family owns the popular restaurant, was working the morning shift with about five other employees when he stepped outside to fetch his jacket from his car.
It was then, about 9 a.m., that he saw a blue Hyundai barreling south on Peters Creek at a high rate of speed.
“The car jumped the median, and I was like, ‘What’s going on?’” Carros said. “I was like, ‘Stop! Stop!’ It almost looked unreal.”
The car crossed the northbound lanes of Peters Creek and tore through the parking lot, coming to rest just short of the restaurant’s front counter.
The restaurant was closed at the time. It opens at 10:30 a.m.
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“Thank God, because that is where people stand,” Carros said.
The employees were in the kitchen in the back of the restaurant prepping for lunch when the wreck happened.
First responders arrived shortly after and pulled the car from the building.
Carros said he saw a driver and two passengers in the car. He did not see any of them taken by ambulance to a hospital.
No other information about the driver or passengers was available.
A landmark Winston-Salem restaurant, Mr. Barbecue was started in 1962 by Tom Gallos with partners Nick Doumas and Alex Fragakis. By 1964, brothers Nick and Andy Carros had joined the business as managing partners. Ownership stakes have shifted a bit over the years, but for the most part, the Carros family has run Mr. Barbecue through the decades.
The restaurant was closed for two years in 2019 after a stray ember from the barbecue pit landed on that dry leaves that then ignited the building’s wood siding.
It reopened in 2021, with cars lined up the street to order barbecue, fried chicken, onion rings and fried okra.
Journal reporter Michael Hastings contributed to this story.
Photos: 2019 fire at Mr. Barbecue
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department extinguished an April 10, 2019 fire at Mr. Barbecue on Peters Creek Parkway.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department extinguished an April 10 fire at Mr. Barbecue on Peters Creek Parkway.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department pack up their gear April 10, 2019 after extinguishing a fire at Mr. Barbecue on Peters Creek Parkway.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department work the scene at Mr. Barbecue after extinguishing a fire there on Wednesday, April 10, 2019 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department work the scene at Mr. Barbecue after extinguishing a fire there April 10, 2019.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department extinguished a fire at Mr. Barbecue on Peters Creek Parkway on April 10, 2019.
BBQFire
Damage is seen on the roof of Mr. Barbecue after fire fighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department extinguished an April 10, 2019 fire at Mr. Barbecue.
BBQFire
Micheal Avery, a firefighter with the Winston-Salem Fire Department, walks in front of Mr. Barbecue on April 10, 2019 after firefighters extinguished a fire there.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department speak with one another after extinguishing a fire April 10, 2019 at Mr. Barbecue on Peters Creek Parkway.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department work the scene at Mr. Barbecue after extinguishing a fire there April 10, 2019.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department pack up their gear after extinguishing an April 10, 2019 fire at Mr. Barbecue on Peters Creek Parkway.
BBQFire
Damage is seen on the roof of Mr. Barbecue after firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department extinguished an April 10, 2019 fire at Mr. Barbecue.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department pack up their gear after extinguishing a fire April 10, 2019 at Mr. Barbecue on Peters Creek Parkway.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department pack up their gear after extinguishing an April 10, 2019 fire at Mr. Barbecue on Peters Creek Parkway.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department work the scene at Mr. Barbecue after extinguishing a fire there April 10, 2019.
BBQFire
Firefighters with the Winston-Salem Fire Department work the scene at Mr. Barbecue on April 10, 2019 after extinguishing a fire there.
PHOTOS: A reopened, rebuilt and revamped Mr. Barbecue
Mr. Barbecue’s fried chicken
Mr. Barbecue’s sliced pork dinner with white slaw and potato salad
Mr. Barbecue’s brisket plate with red slaw and fries
Mr. Barbecue’s ribs with fries and baked beans
Mr. Barbecue’s chopped barbecue plate with red slaw and fries
Barbecue chicken plate at Mr. Barbecue
Walt Unks
Nick Carros joined the business in the early 1960s and still keeps his hand in.
Mr. Barbecue, seen Wednesday, March 10, 2021, is scheduled to reopen on Monday, March 15. A fire on April 10, 2019 forced the restaurant on Peters Creek Parkway to close and rebuild the entire restaurant.
Mr. Barbecue, seen Wednesday, March 10, 2021, is scheduled to reopen on Monday, March 15. A fire on April 10, 2019 forced the restaurant on Peters Creek Parkway to close and rebuild the entire restaurant.
Mr. Barbecue’s principal owner Jimmy Carros with his dad, Nick, one of the early partners in the business in the 1960s.
Nick Carros (right), one of the early partners in Mr. Barbecue, watches as his son Jimmy Carros, the restaurant’s present owner, adds coals to the smoker.
Smoke rises from the chimneys as pork shoulder is smoked at Mr. Barbecue.
Mr. Barbecue will be offering brisket when the Winston-Salem restaurant reopens March 15.
Mr. Barbecue’s dining room will be closed until the threat of COVID-19 eases.
Isidro Bessepe makes hushpuppies at Mr. Barbecue.
Mr. Barbecue owner Jimmy Carros adds coals to the smoker under a rack full of pork shoulders.
Sal Mendez adds barbecue sauce to slices of brisket at Mr. Barbecue.
Mr. Barbecue owner Jimmy Carros stokes the fire in the firebox of the smoker.
The iconic sign outside Mr. Barbecue on Peters Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem
Pork shoulders are smoked at Mr. Barbecue.
Christian Sanchez assembles a plate of ribs at Mr. Barbecue.
Pork shoulders are smoked at Mr. Barbecue.
Mr. Barbecue is set to reopen on Monday, March 15.
Mr. Barbecue owner Jimmy Carros stokes the fire in the firebox of the smoker.
The interior of Mr. Barbecue will be closed until the threat of COVID-19 eases.
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