- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Houston and help keep the future of Houston Press free.
Thelma's, one of the city's most famous "unknown" barbecue joints, was apparently gutted by fire over the weekend.
We're told someone saw the fire engines out at the shack on Friday; another passer-by on Sunday says the place looked gutted.
We're sending someone out now to get photographic evidence and further information, but if you're making lunch plans you might have to adjust them.
Thelma's was (is?) an under-the-radar BBQ haven -- or at least it was until it was featured on a PBS show about best sandwiches in America, or some kind of list-y thing like that. Since then the crowds have gotten noticeably bigger.
Updates when they come in.
Update: From our man on the scene -- The front of Thelma's is its normal ramshackle self, and the house next door seems unscathed, but much of back is blackened. The kitchen area has been gutted. Everything is wet, presumably from the fire department's hoses, and the air is filled with regular fire smell and BBQ fire smell, making for a telling mix.
The photos:
-- 
Keep the Houston Press Free... Since we started the Houston Press, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Houston, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Houston with no paywalls.
