Fire closes Warrenton restaurant

WARRENTON, Ga. -- A popular barbecue restaurant caught fire this afternoon, forcing employees and customers to flee for safety, authorities say.

Kendrick's Barbecue, located on the Macon Highway in the city limits of Warrenton, is now closed until repairs can be made.

No one was injured.

Joann Randall, owner of the restaurant, which has been in business for the past 22 years, said the fire broke out shortly before 2 p.m. in area where the barbecue is cooked.

"A customer noticed the fire and came in to tell us," Ms. Randall told The McDuffie Mirror at the scene.

Immediately, she said, she called 911.

A Warrenton fire truck and firefighter arrived within a short period. Firefighters with the Warren County Fire/Rescue Services later were called to battle the flames that began spreading into the attic of the restaurant.

Firefighters still were at the scene, trying to determine how the fire may have started.

Traffic, meanwhile, was rerouted along that portion of the Macon Highway because of fire hoses being stretched across the highway.