It’s been almost five months since a beloved Central Texas barbecue joint was forced to close after an overnight fire shocked the business. Now, thanks to help from city leaders, Miller’s Smokehouse in Belton is getting a major boost toward a barbecue revival.
Miller’s Smokehouse was forced to close after a fire broke out inside the restaurant on February 28. Ever since then the business has been working out of a food truck as the team develops a plan for the rebuild. Luckily for the smokehouse, a Texas Monthly favorite, Belton City Council unanimously approved a $50,000 Building Life Safety Grant on Tuesday, July 14, all of which will go toward the restaurant’s rebuild.
The entire construction process will cost $153,402, which includes the $50,000 grant. As outlined by Belton City Council documents, Miller’s Smokehouse plans to remove and replace fire-damaged roof trusses and structural framing, replace damaged roof decking and install a new commercial roofing system, replace damaged insulation, flashing, drains and associated roofing components, restoration of the roof structure to comply with current building and life-safety requirements, installation of a new NFPA 13 compliant commercial fire sprinkler system throughout the restaurant, install an underground fire service line connecting the building to a municipal water supply to serve the fire sprinkler and related life-safety improvements necessary to safely reopen the building.
It’s unclear how long this construction plan would take, but the support the barbecue truck has received shows fans are anxious for the day Miller’s reopens its brick-and-mortar.
