SANTEE, S.C. — A late night fire on Christmas Day has destroyed a long-standing restaurant in Orangeburg County.
Lonestar Barbecue & Mercantile, a collection of four historic buildings in Santee, burned almost to the ground during the blaze. The wooden buildings dated from the late 1890s and early 1920s and were moved from Lone Star, SC, to Santee in 2000 to form the barbecue restaurant and mercantile stores. The businesses had just celebrated 20 years of operation in 2022 and the owners had discussed expansion with a News19 reporter in an interview on February 11 last year.
Orangeburg County Fire District is conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire.