Enjoy the finger licking goodness of special never-before-served dishes as River Rd BBQ, 3017 River Rd., celebrates their reopening today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. after recent flooding filled the restaurant with seven feet of water.
“Oh my gosh,” said General Manager Krissy Higgins. “We are so happy to be back open. We were closed for exactly a month. We closed our doors on February 20 and opened again on March 20. We have gotten such good feedback from our customers who are happy to see us reopen, and it’s just good to be back.”
The party will feature a never before served half slab of “Baby Welcome Back Ribs,” ($12) and a 50/50 platter ($13), which includes a sandwich with a half-pound of meat – a combination of pulled pork and brisket – with two sides (potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans or chips.) Their chicken sandwiches or chicken and pork tacos will also be available. They expect their full menu to return at the end of next week (with their spare ribs and sausages.)
With some foresight, owner Jon Gudmundsson moved all of the restaurants furniture, coolers and other items into storage as the water began to rise and move towards the restaurant. The smoker remained out front, though and took two days of cleaning, sanitizing and more cleaning. The restaurant itself had to have most of its electrical equipment, drywall and the other internal work redone or replaced except for electrical wiring.
“We moved a lot of stuff to very high shelves where we thought it would be safe, but it was not,” said Higgins. “Some of our friends and staff helped, some very kind volunteers from the community, and we had a great contracting crew. The River House [Restaurant and Raw Bar] was kind enough to give us a few lunches for volunteers and employees while they were working and was kind enough to let us use their kitchen for a catering event and their dishwasher. They were wonderful neighbors through all of this.”
