RB’s Southern Cuisine and Catering has been closed since fire gutted the building on Hwy. 51 N. in Como last week.

Photo by Myra Bean

By Johnathan Williams

The community of Como was saddened this past week as a local restaurant, RB’s Southern Cuisine, caught fire and left severe damage on the property.

According to R.B. Armstrong, the owner of the restaurant, this event happened last Tuesday around 8:35 a.m.

The cause of the fire so far is unknown , but it was reportedly started as a small fire in the kitchen and somehow managed to get “out of hand”.

Thankfully, no one was reported hurt or injured because of the fire, he said.

RB’s Southern Cuisine opened up its doors in 2013 and had been in business every day from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. since.

The restaurant was known around the town of Como for its vast amount of soul food  they serve throughout the week. The Como Rotary Club also enjoyed the lunches provided by Armstrong at its regular Wednesday meetings.

Armstrong and his family were at the scene when it happened and since then have been upset  about this event, but he is already planning on rebuilding the restaurant.

“I’m actually trying to rebuild as quickly as possible,” Armstrong said. “I say this mostly because we have been getting alot of business lately. The people from the town of Como usually come in before work.  Right now we are still trying to clean the debris. Everything was pretty damaged and  we’ve been throwing a lot of stuff away.”

The popular restaurant could possibly be open by next month.

Armstrong, 59, claims that he has been cooking for most of his adult life and enjoys being behind the stove.

He is also a host on his own radio program on Sunday nights called “The Godfather” and has also been a part of the WBLE station for 25 years. His program features rhythm and blues selections and has a wide listening audience.