“Everything Was Gone”: San Antonio Barbecue Joint Robbed of All Food Items

Employees of barbecue restaurant 225° Urban Smoke BBQ walked into their shop last week to discover every single bit of food had been stolen, including cases of meat, produce, bread, cheese and pantry items.

“Everything was gone," said Samuel Ransom, chef for the Northeast San Antonio eatery. “But we opened up the next day to send a message: just because bad things happen, you’ve got to continue, you’ve got to keep doing what you’re doing.”

Despite the Urban Smoke team's frustration and sadness, Ransom said it also experienced an overwhelming show of support from customers.

“I’m not originally from here, so to see San Antonio embrace us and help us through this when we know everyone is also going through such hardship has been mind-blowing,” he said.

Urban Smoke has experienced its share of hardship over the past few months. The pandemic forced management to lay off half of its staff, and the restaurant's generator was stolen in March. Now, the barbecue spot is forced to rebuild its entire $15,000 food while only operating with curbside and take-out capacity.

“We’re just young men trying to build a business, serve good food and give great service," Ransom said. "We’ve just got to keep looking up.”

The Urban Smoke team is accepting donations via GoFundMe.

So many restaurants, so little time. Find out the latest San Antonio dining news with our Flavor Friday Newsletter.