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

[JazzyBadger]

Originally Posted by marubozo

New record day. Lunch started slow, but from about 1-2:30 there was a line out the door. Every square inch of the smoker was being used this morning, and by about 2:30 we had sold out of everything except a little brisket. Had to basically shut down until about 5 when all the dinner meat was ready to come off. I don't know how many hundreds of pounds of meat we went through today, but it was a lot.

Even better, nothing broke this week. Well, I better knock on wood since I still have to get through tomorrow. But no frozen pipes, no broken furnace, no broken fridge, plenty of propane, etc.

And I really need to start looking at a mobile smoker or vending trailer for this summer. The requests for catering are staggering.

Don't think I've posted in this thread so far, but I've been following your progress the entire time. It's actually this thread that continuously pulls me back into the madness that is Q-Talk.
I'm glad to see you've got your ducks in a row (as much as they can be) and that you're continuing to thrive. I wish you all the luck in the world with this endeavor. I'll make a sacrifice in your name because you're bringing the wonders of Texas brisket to your neck of the woods. Kudos, sir.

[marubozo]

And of course, I jinxed myself by posting last night. Came in this morning and the steam table isn't working. We have a portable one that will hold a full size pan, but for the other hot items we'll have to get a little creative. That new double oven is going to be a life saver today.

[mchar69]

Figures!

[crb478]

Originally Posted by marubozo

And of course, I jinxed myself by posting last night. Came in this morning and the steam table isn't working. We have a portable one that will hold a full size pan, but for the other hot items we'll have to get a little creative. That new double oven is going to be a life saver today.

To read this post you have terrible luck, but you have great perseverance and are making your own luck. Keep up the great work. I am now mostly retired and no longer want to work that hard, but this country would be better off with more people like you how meet their problems head on and succeed.

[slammmed]

Originally Posted by landarc

slammed, my apologies, it was not my intent to be condescending, and if that is how you took it, I am sorry for offending you. It is a forum, and not everyone knows where each of us is coming from.

No hard feelings, sorry if I came off as harsh as well. *e-fist bump*

[landarc]

Good, not that that is done, we can all stand back and stare aghast as Jeremy's trials continue.


A word of encouragement, while this might seem like a horror show, it is actually not at all unusual for a restaurant to have issues like this. A very experienced restauranteur friend out here, opened up a burger place and for the first few weeks, it was one thing after another, the worst ended up being the mechanical engineer undersized the kitchen electrical and gas circuits, and he could not run all of his fryers and stoves at one time.

[castlepines]

I would pully my hair out going through all this. My head is shaved but I'd still pull my hair out. Keep chipping away, Jeremy.

[Pyle's BBQ]

Originally Posted by marubozo

And of course, I jinxed myself by posting last night. Came in this morning and the steam table isn't working. We have a portable one that will hold a full size pan, but for the other hot items we'll have to get a little creative. That new double oven is going to be a life saver today.

Yes, the life of starting with used equipment. If I would have seen this earlier, I would have asked if you turned it on. I have done that before. The stove makes a great warmer with full pans and using just one burner on low. Do you think it is a thermostat or a larger issue?

[tommye1078]

Originally Posted by landarc

Good, not that that is done, we can all stand back and stare aghast as Jeremy's trials continue.


A word of encouragement, while this might seem like a horror show, it is actually not at all unusual for a restaurant to have issues like this. A very experienced restauranteur friend out here, opened up a burger place and for the first few weeks, it was one thing after another, the worst ended up being the mechanical engineer undersized the kitchen electrical and gas circuits, and he could not run all of his fryers and stoves at one time.

I had this problem with my last restaurant. What a nightmare.

[Bbq Bubba]

Originally Posted by marubozo

I don't know how many hundreds of pounds of meat we went through today, but it was a lot.

I hope this quote is tounge in cheek as you should know EXACTLY how much meat you sold each day.

Lookin to get down there soonly!

[marubozo]

Originally Posted by Bbq Bubba

I hope this quote is tounge in cheek as you should know EXACTLY how much meat you sold each day.

Lookin to get down there soonly!

Hah, yes, I do know. Or will know when I check the meat log.

Speaking of numbers, I sat down and went through the first month and figured out our food costs for everything down to the pickles that go on the plate. I was a bit surprised at how well that was going for just starting.

My food costs for the menu items range between 26-41%, depending on the meat and sides chosen. But most things are right in the 30-35% range. Pulled pork sandwiches/platters being the obvious items with the best margin, and ribs having the lowest.

This also helped identify a few areas with side dishes to bring those costs down a bit and improve numbers even further.

[SlowSmoked]

Originally Posted by Redleg71

Did I hear that you only season your brisket with salt and Pepper?

That is the only way to do it, right? I wouldn't eat brisket any other way...

[SlowSmoked]

Originally Posted by TexasTex

Wow, to the Prized Pig owner;

Amazing story man. SUBSCRIBED!

Congrats to you for sure. I wish I was up in the neighborhood to see what yall are all about!

I didn't read the entire thread, but picked through it. You made me laugh when you talked about the burnt ends! I was up in Mich like 10 years ago for my step fathers family reunion. He wanted me to do some brisket and some ribs, beef and pork.

Long story short, most of the Mich folk, had NO CLUE, what brisket even was! When I offered one of the guys the burnt ends, he scoffed at me and said something like, "We don't like burnt food in Michigan."

I thought it was pretty funny. Anyways, your story is really neat man. Good luck to you in the future.





This is my stomping grounds. I grew up 25 miles southwest of there, and my house is a bout 5 miles from there.

Not a fan of Franklin's. I have lived out of Texas for a few years and was back last September. Went to see what the new kid on the block was all about, and quite frankly, not that impressed. It was over smoked and dry to me.

I'd rather have J Mueller's any day of the week over Franklins. Shoot, I may take Rudy's over Franklin's. You want some real darn good meat? Head on down to the Salt Lick. That's in my hometown and to die for man, no joke.



Good advice.

Rudy's over Franklins? Are you sure you're from central TX? Rudys is the McDonalds of central TX BBQ...maybe you were just joking.

[SlowSmoked]

Marubozo,

A big thanks for taking us along for the ride. I plan on starting my Q catering biz later this year and hope to have my own BBQ joint within the next few years. I've spent several years managing kitchens and have a binder full of research of ideas for my future venture. This thread has added more fuel to the fire. Congrats on the initial success...looks like you are doing things the right way!

[luke duke]

Originally Posted by marubozo

On the bright side, we now have automatic ice. Hooray for not driving to the store and spending 20 bucks a day and loading bags of ice manually. It will take about a year to break even on this investment, but clearly well worth it in the long run.

I'm guessing that it will pay for itself much sooner if you account for your time going back and forth to the store and loading ice manually.