Updated Jan. 10: Revised to include more details on how commercially prepared food can be donated.

After the water meter at Lockhart Smokehouse mysteriously disappeared, the restaurant made the best of a bad situation by sharing barbecue that would've gone to waste.

The Bishop Arts District restaurant had an issue with the water that began Wednesday. It was coming out only in a trickle in the kitchen and was nonexistent in the bathrooms, owner Jill Growbowsky Bergus said.

The problem wasn't fixed Wednesday, and things were looking bleak for a lunch opening Thursday, burnt end day.

Turns out, the restaurant's water meter had vanished. The city said it wasn't its doing, Bergus said.

Was it Dickey's? Those sneaky Chick-fil-A cows?

Wasn't us! We've got an alibi. We think y'all are nice too and hope you get smokin' soon! @DallasLockhart @hopi1 — Dickeys Barbecue Pit (@Dickeys) January 5, 2017

Although- without opposable thumbs, they become a less likely culprit https://t.co/XqJijDpUWD — Lockhart Smokehouse (@DallasLockhart) January 5, 2017

Nope. Maybe just someone desperate to turn on their own water?

in theory, you could use it to turn water on somewhere else- until the city finds out — Lockhart Smokehouse (@DallasLockhart) January 5, 2017

Instead of letting the food that had already been prepared go to waste, Lockhart sent it to The Stewpot and The Bridge, where it served about 700 people, Bergus said.

Last week, Lockhart received an email about restaurants being able to donate commercially prepared food to shelters, something Bergus was previously unaware of. Now she wants to spread the word so other restaurants can give their leftovers new life.

Thank you, @DallasLockhart -- What a wonderful way to turn around a crummy situation. We are grateful for your generosity! @TheStewpot https://t.co/YN06rU2rd7 — The Bridge (@TheBridgeHRC) January 5, 2017

A city crew got the water back on at the restaurant Thursday afternoon, just in time to open for the dinner crowd.

Burnt ends for everyone!

The Stewpot turned the gifted barbecue into food served at three meal times in different ways, with kitchen staff keeping in mind issues clients might have such as unhealthy meat, said Ashlee Hueston, meal and volunteer services director with The Stewpot.

The Lockhart's connection was made thanks to Eric Nadel, a sports announcer for the Texas Rangers radio broadcasts who has linking The Stewpot with restaurants he frequents or that his friends own, she said.

To make sure commercially prepared food is safe to serve, The Stewpot uses a questionnaire to determine whether the donation is compatible with the city's health code, Hueston said.