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

[ITBFQ]

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.

It was our pleasure. If that was the less preferred brisket, then I can't wait to taste the rest! Thanks again!

 

[Buckeye Bob]

Well I did it. It took me since Saturday but I made it through all 1,980 posts. Just want to say congrats to you for having a vision and seeing it through no matter what obstacles were in your way. I have loved reading every bit of this topic and so excited for all of your success. I can't wait to get over that way and try it for myself. Thanks for sharing with all of us.

 

[HankB]

If any brethren are anywhere near this place, you have got to stop in!

Sunday. We'll be heading out there with the CRBMW (Chicago Region BMW motorcycle owners.) I'd guess about six of us. Some times we get a few more, but it's also the furthest we've gone for a 'meet to eat.'

Can anyone tell me if blueberries are coming in yet? I figure to head north on 139 to St. Joe and then back along the Red Arrow to get a few extra miles in. It would be very cool if we could stop along the way for some fresh blueberries. :mrgreen:

 

[Memphis Que]

And there is no foil, no mopping, and no saucing in this place!

Do you apply rub to the ribs before you put them in the smoker?

 

[GrillsGoneWild]

Do you apply rub to the ribs before you put them in the smoker?

He doesn't need rubs. He has magical fairies floating in his smoker to make everything magically delicious.

 

[Neil]

Blueberries should be available in a couple of weeks. Go another 20 miles north of St. Joseph to South Haven and you'll be in the Blueberry capitol!

 

[Hoppy]

AMEN on the "This is BBQ not Comp BS!

I'll take a fine meal over a Bite Anyday!

P.S. You are Doing a Great Job Pal. Always Remember forever remain humble because one day it could all go away....

That was the motto I used when in business year ago.

Keep up the Great work it has been enjoyable to ready your progress and I appreciate you taking the time out to share it with us.

 

[marubozo]

Do you apply rub to the ribs before you put them in the smoker?

Well of course. But I just stick to the KISS methodology. Pork gets a simple rub of mainly salt, pepper, sugar, paprika, garlic, and onion. And beef and chicken just get salt and pepper. Then let the smoke do all the work.

 

[KalamazooMark]

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

The taxes aren't that high actually, because the Promise money is from an anonymous donor, not the City.

 

[GrillsGoneWild]

Well of course. But I just stick to the KISS methodology. Pork gets a simple rub of mainly salt, pepper, sugar, paprika, garlic, and onion. And beef and chicken just get salt and pepper. Then let the smoke do all the work.

Keeping it simple certainly works. What wood are you using and is it different then what is usually available, therefore bringing a different taste to the meat than what most customers are used to?

 

[Mikeinctown]

Because of the Emerald Ash Borer we aren't allowed to take any wood over county lines unless it has been kiln dried. IIRC it is affecting Michigan even more than us at this point. Hopefully that isn't a big impact on availability on any wood.

 

[GrillsGoneWild]

I don't know what is most prevalent in MI. Here in Texas, the taste from the wood changes from different parts of the state. It goes from Pecan in East Texas to Hickory in West Texas to Oak in Central Texas and Mesquite in south Texas. Of course each region has those who use different woods from that is most common there. The best BBQ place in Dallas, TX, Pecan Lodge, uses mesquite which is highly uncommon to be used around here for commercial BBQ.

 

[smoke ninja]

Keeping it simple certainly works. What wood are you using and is it different then what is usually available, therefore bringing a different taste to the meat than what most customers are used to?

Michigan has endless trees. Apple, oak, cherry, maple. There are a lot of trees here.

 

[marubozo]

Keeping it simple certainly works. What wood are you using and is it different then what is usually available, therefore bringing a different taste to the meat than what most customers are used to?

I use oak and apple. It is different from what people around here are used to because everyone still seems to use hickory.

 

[Hoppy]

Can't beat white oak with a few sticks of fruit woods that's for darn sure!

 

[NAVET]

I just read this thread from start to finish and can only say HOLY CRAP!! With the ups and downs I am surprised you don't get motion sickness as well as completely exhausted!
But I want to say thanks for sharing ALL the experiences, good and bad.

 

[marubozo]

You know what the best feeling in the world is? When you've only been off work for an hour after working 14 straight hours and all you can think about is how much fun it will be to do it all over again in the morning. It's priceless.

And I really need to get this new smoker and establish a permanent catering setup. When I checked our voicemail this morning, I had 7 messages, all people requesting catering. Weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, etc. All told, just the number of people from those messages would be around 800. And had two people come in today placing orders for 100+ each. 4th of July weekend is already nearly booked up as well.

As it stands now, if I could handle all the catering requests, I could probably about double our current sales. Almost hard to believe.

 

[leanza]

Chiming in here...

“The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it.” — Thomas Sowell

The only portion of our business where we never run out of food is the Catering side. Onsite catering at a Wedding reception, Birthday, Corporate Event - Running out of food is unexcuseable, and can be the kiss of death for your business. We only take one Catering event per day, and concentrate on that event. Our Food Trucks and Restaurant were another story.

Trucks were a different story - We could only stock so much product, and hold it for so long, so we balanced our pricing with how much we had to sell, over how long we could sell it. A typical truck "stop" was 4-5 hours, and we typically sold out in 3-4. Our customers knew we had the best food, at a reasonable price, and to get there early to get it. This was the case for 2.5 plus years.

At our Restaurant, we made what we made each day, and very close to contest quality BBQ. We had certain specials on certain days/eves, and when we ran out, we ran out. Burnt Ends on Fridays were usually sold out by 5:30 for example. Never had anyone bent outta shape because we were out of a certain item, the comment was "Wow, that must be really good. We'll get here earlier next time". We structured the operation around what we knew we could do really well each day, and charged accordingly.

That said, all this took time and we made plenty of mistakes along the way - lol! I think the idea of "The Customer is King", and "Always Right" can be problematic. I've always said "The Customer is always the Customer" - We've always treated them with respect and hospitality, and made some nice frends along the way. Business is different now, more regulation, costs, pressure, and moving parts (Social Media, Internet, Email, etc). He'll figure out where he needs to be, and find his "lane". Success takes time, and nothing feels better.

I hope our Brethren students were paying attention to this sage wisdom. Chris knows his chit. He has walked it and understands the dynamics of cooking as well as the business. Man, I thankful for Chris as he is willing to share critical, free advise in a lot of areas related to BBQ operations. We need to listen and maybe ask Chris questions. Just check out his ratings over time. He's a frgging library. And.....He' s my brother.

 

[castlepines]

Does anyone else want this thread be made a sticky? Sometimes it gets buried amongst the other threads and disappears until someone posts something to bump it back up. If it were a sticky would be much easier to find...right at the top of the page at all times...where it should be. :smile:

 

[NukeDad]

Does anyone else want this thread be made a sticky? Sometimes it gets buried amongst the other threads and disappears until someone posts something to bump it back up. If it were a sticky would be much easier to find...right at the top of the page at all times...where it should be. :smile:

Just go to 'Q Talk' and click on the 'views' hyperlink. This thread is second on the list. That's how I always find it, anyway.