Leicester barbecue business vows to rebuild after fire destroys food truck

Brian Patterson’s 6 Pigs BBQ lost its food truck in Leicester on Thursday, May 7, leaving the small barbecue business scrambling to stay alive after a fire destroyed the trailer he used to serve Buncombe County customers.

Patterson said he had already prepped more than 100 pounds of food for the day, including meals for Teacher Appreciation Week at North Buncombe Middle School and food for a softball game that night. He stepped away from the smoker briefly, then came back to find the trailer engulfed in flames. By the time the fire was out, the trailer was gone, the generator was one of the only items recovered, and the rig, which Patterson said was nearly paid off, could not be saved.

The fire marshal ruled the cause unknown. Patterson, who works full time as a firefighter with the Leicester Fire Department, described the loss as his livelihood, not just a piece of equipment. The business had operated since October 2023 and had built a local following by moving between catering jobs, school events and community stops in western Buncombe County.

That local connection made the loss hit harder. During Hurricane Helene, 6 Pigs BBQ accepted donated food and gave it away to the community, turning the truck into a small but visible part of the county’s recovery effort. Now Patterson is trying to rebuild with help from other barbecue businesses. Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue offered commissary kitchen space, and Patterson’s brother, who owns a barbecue business in Tennessee, is lending a trailer so operations can continue.

The setback lands in a county still marked by Helene’s damage. Buncombe County’s after-action report said the storm killed 43 people locally, damaged more than 60% of county properties, destroyed 372 homes and left more than 11,000 in need of significant repairs. For a microbusiness like 6 Pigs BBQ, those numbers are more than background. They help explain why a single fire can threaten a livelihood, interrupt school and sports commitments, and erase one of the small operations that helped carry the county through its last disaster.

Patterson said the business still plans to honor its school and student-athlete commitments as it works toward a restart.