Fire at Longhorn

Tuesday November 10, 2009 a fire burned Longhorn Steakhouse in Jackson to the ground. And to some people this might "just" be a restaurant, but to me it was my 2nd home in Jackson.

After working for a gym and Buckle in high school, my best friend convinced me to get a job where she worked LONGHORN. Having never worked in a restaurant before, they started me as a hostess, and eventually became a server and a bartender and the staff, well we became a family....

When I moved to Murfreesboro to go to MTSU I transferred to the Nashville downtown Longhorn, and eventually helped open the Brentwood Longhorn. I worked for the company for 4 1/2 yrs. While in college, I could come home and work shifts at the Jackson Longhorn.

The Jackson Longhorn management team and staff were like a family to me. The people there were some of the most awesome, loving, loyal - "give you the shirt off their back" kind of people! Many I'm still friends with 8 years later...

Tuesday morning I got a phone call that it had burned down - gas fire they thought. I was devastated... Thankfully no one had been in the building. The fire started less than an hour after the closing manager and staff had left.

David, (his interview link) the general manager was my first thought - He had been there since day one (in 2001). My heart just ached for him - that store was his baby! Then I immediately thought of all my friends, and the rest of the management team that were now out of a job. Then I got on facebook, and the pictures, and comments, and statuses broke my heart. I immediately began texting and messaging and calling - trying to reach out to as many as I could - to tell them I loved them, that I was there for them, that I was praying for them, and to see if there was anything I could do...

Please keep these people in your prayers - they are having a staff meeting tomorrow morning to discuss options for the staff - my understanding is that they will try to place them with other restaurants around town, or they can draw unemployment... I have faith that God will take care of them...