ShedHeds Helping Burned Down BBQ Joint Rebuild

Early Sunday morning, the original location of The Shed BBQ & Blues Joint in Ocean Springs, Mississippi?about an hour-and-a-half east of New Orleans?caught fire. The blaze completely destroyed the restaurant that had once hosted Guy Fieri and that was a favorite stop for New Orleanians headed to (or coming from) the beach.

But there's some uplifting news coming out of this. Fans of the barbecue joint, which they call "ShedHeds," have been coming out of the woodwork to show their support. According to the Shed's Facebook page, people throughout the region have been collecting junk to help rebuild the restaurant to its former eclectic, kinda-divey grandeur. And according to an update on their website, three foodservice distributors have donated supplies, in addition to donated smokers from three other barbecue joints?including 3 Taxi Guys BBQ in Atlanta?which are helping get the business back up and running, albeit in a rather ramshackle way.

And what does this mean for us in New Orleans? While it seems unlikely that anyone will be leaving NOLA for Ocean Springs during Mardi Gras weekend, The Shed will be serving barbecue and beer again starting Friday. And if you've got junk, they'll take it.

· The Shed BBQ & Blues Joint (Ocean Springs, Mississippi) [Facebook]
· The Shed BBQ & Blues Joint Goes Up in Flames UPDATE [Official Site]