Barbecue restaurant plans for safety amid winter storm

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As winter weather moves into Charlotte, some restaurants are reconsidering their weekend plans, including one neighborhood favorite known for pulled pork and ribs.

On most days, an illuminated “open” sign welcomes customers into Sweet Lew’s Barbecue, where owner Lewis Donald greets guests with a smile and the sounds of soul food filling the kitchen.

What You Need To Know

Sweet Lew’s Barbecue may close temporarily due to icy weather conditions over the weekend

Delivery and catering orders will likely be canceled during the storm

The restaurant is cutting back on cooking to avoid losing inventory if power goes out

Owner Lewis Donald says safety — not profit — is a top priority

But icy conditions in the forecast could change that.

“I mean, all the toilet paper and the milk and the eggs are gone. We’re probably going to close because people aren’t going to come out unless they don’t have power,” Donald said. “And the reality is, if in this little neighborhood, if there’s no power, I don’t have power.”

Donald says the concern isn’t just about electricity, it’s about safety.

“Because at some point it’s all about safety,” he said. “So if it’s not safe for people to leave their house, it’s not safe for our employees to leave their house. It’s not safe for DoorDash and Uber Eats to leave their house.”

Sweet Lew’s typically offers delivery, but that will likely pause during the storm.

“We would definitely cancel delivery,” he said. “And if we have any catering, whether it’s us or them, they cancel them.”

In preparation, the restaurant is cutting back on cooking in case the power goes out. Without electricity, they risk losing their meat supply. But Donald says the bigger concern is the financial strain if outages last several days.

“It’s the ‘J’s’ — it’s January, June and July that are the worst months for restaurants here in Charlotte,” he said. “So being January, being dry January, everybody is watching their weight and those types of things.”

“One or two days, the staff might get a little rumbling with, you know, because we work for tips and some stuff like that,” he said. “So that impacts their money. But then, you get in a day three, four and five and it starts to hit our budget in terms of paying the rent, paying the utilities and doing that kind of stuff. So that could be scary. Let’s not speak that into existence.”

Donald says while meat can be replaced, people cannot.

“For us that are in neighborhoods and if we don’t have power, we don’t have that population density. It’s just not worth the risk,” he said. “You know, it’s never worth, and money’s not worth … the possible risks.”

He encourages customers to support local restaurants by ordering ahead of the storm and returning once conditions improve.