Open a BBQ restaurant, they said. It will be fun, they said

[HankB]

Originally Posted by marubozo

... having experience with how this township works I know that adding or building here would be a nightmare.

That's too bad, at least from the standpoint about the governing bodies. I can't speak to the other issues. (As you say, you cannot just smoke and sell more meat and there may be more issues beyond the building.) It seems to me that the value of The Prized Pig to the township goes beyond the tax revenue you generate. You pull business in from fairly far away and that benefits other businesses in the area. Unfortunate that they cannot see beyond "we have rules that we must enforce."

[insaneh]

I was just reading some of the yelp reviews. I had to laugh at this one.

You would probably have to drive to Detroit or Chicago to find a better BBQ

My search continues for a decent Q joint around here.
I hit one I've been driving by for years. Checked out the yelp reviews.
I don't go by these exclusively, but use it as a base.
Meh. If it wasn't owned by a storage facility (behind it) I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be there.

[Redleg71]

I want to hear more about the throwing of the phone!!!!

[insaneh]

Originally Posted by Redleg71

I want to hear more about the throwing of the phone!!!!

Picture a balloon. Every time one of his employees does something stupid, it's like another breath getting blown in. Repeat that mistake a couple of times and it's like a whole lung full at a time. Something has to give eventually. Given that most business owners run around with a half full balloon from everyday stress, sometimes it fills fast.

For me, the repeated mistakes are the worst. Like he said though, public forum. Can't blab too much.
I'm all for a private section where he could vent unrestricted though!

[KalamazooMark]

Originally Posted by marubozo

I've actually got a few cities begging me to move to their area, so if the time ever comes I know there a lot of options.

The Prized Pig in Kalamazoo has a nice ring to it. There's a lot going on here, including free college tuition (to any Michigan public university, college, or 15 participating private colleges and universities) if you have kids that graduate from Kalamazoo Public Schools. It's called "the Kalamazoo Promise". Just saying . . .

[GrillsGoneWild]

Originally Posted by marubozo

To give you a general idea, here's what my typical cooks are throughout the day.

8:30am - Load up all the ribs and rib tips that will be needed for lunch.
9am - Load up all the chicken and sausage that will be needed for lunch.
10:45am - Pull everything out of the smoker and get ready to rock the lunch rush.

Am I reading this correctly, you are smoking your ribs in 2 hours and 15 minutes or are they already cooked at a different time and you are reheating them?

[marubozo]

Originally Posted by GrillsGoneWild

Am I reading this correctly, you are smoking your ribs in 2 hours and 15 minutes or are they already cooked at a different time and you are reheating them?

Ribs and rib tips cook between 2-2.5 hours depending on size. I forgot to mention that during the day after I pull the butts and brisket I run the pit at 275 for all the other meats.

[haunas]

Need to get the powers that be to eat your BBQ. Maybe invite the inspectors who worked on your permit in for a closed event on an off day. Smooth things over, etc.....playing the politics for the future. ;) Good luck. Read through nearly all the pages.

Whoops forgot the quote to my post....about the township, mechanical, health, building inspectors that gave you a hard time.

[marubozo]

Originally Posted by haunas

Need to get the powers that be to eat your BBQ. Maybe invite the inspectors who worked on your permit in for a closed event on an off day. Smooth things over, etc.....playing the politics for the future. ;) Good luck. Read through nearly all the pages.

Whoops forgot the quote to my post....about the township, mechanical, health, building inspectors that gave you a hard time.

One of the inspectors came in to eat and apologized about the difficulties early on. Haven't seen anyone else since. Hell, I haven't even seen the health department since that opening day. In fact, I just got my actual foodservice license in the mail last week. I guess it takes about six months to mail out a piece of pink paper.

Forgot to mention, we're up for two awards in July. The South Bend Tribune does an annual Reader's Choice awards and we were a finalist in the BBQ category. Then somebody came in from another publication and said we're a finalist for the best restaurant in Michiana. And somebody told me this weekend that one of the regional food critics came in earlier in the week anonymously. So now I'm anxiously awaiting the review.

Not going to lie, but it feels pretty good to begin seeing recognition after only six months in business.

[daninnewjersey]

[QUOTE=marubozo;2966541 Not going to lie, but it feels pretty good to begin seeing recognition after only six months in business.[/QUOTE]

You worked your ass off (and obviously still are) and this is what can happen as a result. You deserve ALL of the recognition you get....

[DaveAlvarado]

Originally Posted by marubozo

Ribs and rib tips cook between 2-2.5 hours depending on size. I forgot to mention that during the day after I pull the butts and brisket I run the pit at 275 for all the other meats.

Dang that's quick. Is that for spares? Do they spend a bunch of time wrapped?

I get spares done in about 4 hours at 275, but they get smoke for about 3 hours then foil for about 45 minutes, with a final 15-30 minutes getting the sauce set and hitting the tenderness I want.

[ITBFQ]

If any brethren are anywhere near this place, you have got to stop in! Jeremy is putting out some awesome Q at this place. My wife and I stopped in on Saturday for a late lunch while on our way to New Buffalo to celebrate our anniversary. I am so glad we made it part of our plans. The brisket itself is worth the trip. I had a hard time sharing some with my wife - the bark itself is phenomenal! My wife had ribs, and again, the Prized Pig nailed them. Great tenderness, awesome flavor. You can tell that Jeremy has put a ton of time and effort into smoking some great BBQ. Not just the BBQ is great, though - the sides are fantastic. The cornbread itself is amazing. The food here is top notch. Some people might complain about the decor - who cares?!? We went to have some fantastic BBQ for lunch, and that is exactly what we had.

Thanks for the tour, too! My wife had never seen a smoker like that up close before, and she thought it was really cool. Nice job - all of your hard work and frustration hasn't kept you from making some great BBQ!

Jeremy, keep up the good work, brother! We will be seeing you next year!

[mamajamma21]

God bless. Nothing quite like the pride of your own business.

[Memphis Que]

Originally Posted by KalamazooMark

The Prized Pig in Kalamazoo has a nice ring to it. There's a lot going on here, including free college tuition (to any Michigan public university, college, or 15 participating private colleges and universities) if you have kids that graduate from Kalamazoo Public Schools. It's called "the Kalamazoo Promise". Just saying . . .

That's wild. Your property taxes must be sky high. Somebody is having to pay for all that "free" college tuition.

[marubozo]

Originally Posted by DaveAlvarado

Dang that's quick. Is that for spares? Do they spend a bunch of time wrapped?

I get spares done in about 4 hours at 275, but they get smoke for about 3 hours then foil for about 45 minutes, with a final 15-30 minutes getting the sauce set and hitting the tenderness I want.

Yes, that is for St. Louis trimmed spares. But this cooker has rotisserie and a convection fan, so I've found smaller cuts cook much faster with this setup. It surprised the hell out of me when I first started cooking on it.

And there is no foil, no mopping, and no saucing in this place! This is BBQ, not competition bs.

Originally Posted by ITBFQ

If any brethren are anywhere near this place, you have got to stop in! Jeremy is putting out some awesome Q at this place. My wife and I stopped in on Saturday for a late lunch while on our way to New Buffalo to celebrate our anniversary. I am so glad we made it part of our plans. The brisket itself is worth the trip. I had a hard time sharing some with my wife - the bark itself is phenomenal! My wife had ribs, and again, the Prized Pig nailed them. Great tenderness, awesome flavor. You can tell that Jeremy has put a ton of time and effort into smoking some great BBQ. Not just the BBQ is great, though - the sides are fantastic. The cornbread itself is amazing. The food here is top notch. Some people might complain about the decor - who cares?!? We went to have some fantastic BBQ for lunch, and that is exactly what we had.

Thanks for the tour, too! My wife and never seen a smoker like that up close before, and she thought it was really cool. Nice job - all of your hard work and frustration hasn't kept you from making some great BBQ!

Jeremy, keep up the good work, brother! We will be seeing you next year!

Thanks for stopping in. It's always great to see fellow brethren. Glad you guys enjoyed everything. To be honest, after you told me who you were I felt bad about what I sent out. You got the very last of the brisket for the day and I would have preferred to not serve it for a platter and save it for sandwiches or burnt ends. But since you liked it so much, ignore everything I just said. ;)