LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Brian Buechner, owner of Big B’s Texas BBQ, recently hosted a fundraiser at the restaurant’s new location to aid those in Texas affected by catastrophic flooding in his hometown.
Now, after seeing Buechner’s story on Channel 13, another Texan in Las Vegas is giving back.
WATCH | The Camp Mystic sign makes it way to Big B's Texas BBQ
Nick Baumert, the owner of Custom Customs, said that he and Buechner shared ties to Texas.
“Me and B are both from Texas… our bleeding hearts go out back home,” Baumert said.
WATCH |Brian Buechner and Nick Baumert discuss Camp Mystic sign
“Well, because of your story, Channel 13, Nick decided to… have his youth welding class build this wonderful sign… it’s amazing," Buechner said. "It took him time out of his life to show support for the children that died at the camp. It speaks for itself. It’s awesome."
As a father, Baumert felt strongly about honoring the memory of the children of Camp Mystic.
“I don’t think I could not do something,” he said.
And so, construction on the Camp Mystic sign began. Big B's Texas BBQ donated stainless steel to Custom Customs, where the youth welders were given creative freedom to design the sign.
“We wanna make something special for the restaurant, where people who don’t really know what happened can kinda see a memorial to it, and don’t really forget about that whole situation," Baumert said.
Special detail went into making the sign at Custom Customs.
“I had the kids make wings, angel wings, out of the stainless steel. And then they actually took metal and twisted it, and made barbed wire in the shape of Texas... it has the number of counselors and campers lost on there," Baumert said.
The sign finally made its way home to Big B's Texas BBQ this week, where Buechner still feels the loss of his community.
“Any disaster, any time people lose lives… it’s heartbreaking. Especially children… eight years old, seven years old, and 27 of them got washed away. Nothing else you can say about it, it’s terrible," Buechner said.
When asked about how it felt to see the outpour of rescuers in response to the flood, Buechner didn’t seem surprised that so many jumped into action.
“That’s Texas for you… I guarantee hundreds of people were on that river within hours looking for those girls," he said.
Above all else, Buechner expressed his profound gratitude for Custom Customs' youth welders' sign honoring those lost at Camp Mystic.
“There’s no words,” Buechner shared tearfully. “It’ll hang there forever."
You can see the sign in person at Big B's Texas BBQ's new location, which opened to the public this week, located at 8125 West Sahara Avenue, Suite 300.
The devastating floods in Central Texas have left families and communities in urgent need of support. Scripps News Group and the Scripps Howard Fund are partnering to provide critical relief to those impacted. Every dollar donated will support local organizations with relief efforts.
This campaign is a Scripps News Group initiative in collaboration with the Scripps Howard Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization. Contributions to this campaign are tax deductible.
