CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If you ask Kevin Bardge's followers on social media, they'd tell you his food packs a punch.
“Turkey legs is my claim to fame," Bardge said.
He has been cooking it up everyday at The Premiere Chef for the last two years. Recently, he took a step back.
"Dec. 17, I got in an accident I had to go to the hospital having emergency surgery," Bardge said.
He had to leave the barbecue pit and recover from his injuries. While he was down, he took another hit.
“I come to the restaurant and check it out and I realized my grill was stolen," Bardge said. "Somebody done stole my baby”
In response, Bardge took to social media and told his followers what happened -- he has over 6 million views on TikTok and 20,0000 followers. He posted videos including video from security cameras that showed the people taking his grill, along with the make and model of the vehicle.
“They came to my rescue," Bardge said.
In just 60 minutes, a follower called his business and said they spotted the grill and the car from the security video near Pineville.
"They gave me the exact location of where it was," Bardge said.
WCNC Charlotte asked if he planned on pressing charges since he had the location of the suspects. He said no.
"It's not a violent offense and you never know what people are going through," Bardge said. "And as long as I got my grill back, I wasn’t upset at the situation.”
To replace the grill, it would have cost him $9,000 on top of medical bills from the accident. It was another hit avoided.
“It’s pretty much a dream come true, I am so appreciative of the support it’s a lot of people that come every week," Bardge said.
He said he's thankful for people on social media and can't wait to get back to cooking in April.
Due to the accident and being out of a work, a GoFundMe has been started to help with the financial burden of the medical bills.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.