BBQ Joints Adapting Quickly to Coronavirus
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in a global health crisis and paralyzed businesses across the nation, much of the barbecue news in the past week has been disheartening, to put it mildly. Government officials have warned against spreading the disease and have advocated for social distancing. Many restaurants have responded by scrambling to eliminate dine-in options and moved to takeout-and-delivery business models.
But as many locales increase restrictions on movement and implement “shelter-in-place” designations, a number of operators have been forced to make the difficult decision to shutter businesses altogether, laying off staff with no idea when or if they will be able to re-open.
Amy Mills of 17th Street Barbecue released a heartfelt video message on social media announcing the temporary closure of their restaurants in Murphysboro and Marion, Illinois. Other restaurants around the country similarly shuttered operations for the foreseeable future. Atlanta’s Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, Charleston’s Home Team BBQ, Phoenix’s Little Miss BBQ, and Plowboys BBQ in Kansas City were all forced to lay off employees, close entirely, or severely limit operations.
Goldee's Barbecue, which serves up one mean BBQ platter, has closed indefinitely.
In Texas, relatively new locations, such as Ft. Worth’s Goldee’s Barbecue, which just opened in mid-February, and Taco Bronco, the sister restaurant of Austin’s Micklethwait Craft Meats, have both closed indefinitely. Snow’s BBQ in Lexington, which is open only on Saturdays, is closed on March 28, but is still offering barbecue shipping. Kerlin BBQ in Austin has closed indefinitely, and they’ve set up a GoFundMe page to continue paying their employees. Yesterday, Feges BBQ in Houston announced that they were unable to continue operating out of their Greenway Plaza location, but will be doing pop-ups throughout the area and will offer pre-orders at their new Spring Branch Village Shopping Center location.
Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn (who recently returned home after being stranded in South America) is keeping track of how barbecue joints are responding to the pandemic in Texas. Kevin Kelly is maintaining a list of restaurants that offer takeout and delivery across the country on his Kevin’s BBQ Joints website.
Evie Mae’s has transitioned to a curbside market where you can drive up and buy pre-made and frozen items. (Photo via Evie Mae's / Facebook)
Meanwhile, as grocery stores remain open to the public as essential services, some barbecue restaurants have adapted by incorporating a market business model in order to survive. Places such as Brett’s Backyard Bar-B-Que in Rockdale, Texas, Evie Mae’s in Wolfforth, Texas, and Ubon’s Barbeque in Yazoo City, Mississippi are offering items such as pre-packaged meats and essential grocery products to customers.
Buy gift cards, merch, and pre-packaged meats to help joints out now.
In addition to ordering takeout and delivery, there are a number of different ways you can support your favorite restaurants today:
Many offer not only merchandise but also gift cards that you can purchase to use later or donate to those in need. (We donated to a few places we love to do our part.) Here’s a list of barbecue joints that offer merchandise and gift cards from Kevin’s BBQ Joints that is constantly being updated.
Other barbecue joints, including Nashville’s Peg Leg Porker, Memphis’ Charlie Vergos Rendezvous, Texas’ Southside Market & Barbeque, and Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que ship their barbecue nationwide. Here’s a list of barbecue joints you can order smoked meats and other barbecue items from.
Finally, if you want to support the many restaurants and bars (and their workers) who are struggling right now, Eater has compiled a great list of relief funds for restaurants, bars, and food service workers.
In spite of all the challenges that are currently being faced by barbecue restaurants, the barbecue community is resilient and determined to persevere. But they need our help and support now more than ever.
Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist) & Sean Ludwig (NYC BBQ)
Co-Founders, The Smoke Sheet
Here are the top recent barbecue news stories from around the country:
J.C. Reid of the Houston Chronicle writes that joints like Tejas Chocolate + Barbecue (seen here with new curbside pickup) will need to play to their strengths to survive. (Photo by Tejas Chocolate + Barbecue / Facebook)
In these uncertain times, the Houston Chronicle’s J.C. Reid says barbecue joints must play to their strengths in order to make it through the COVID-19 pandemic. He writes that “for now, there is still hope that all barbecue joints can survive with the necessary adjustments. Because the greatest strength of Texas barbecue is that it is a comfort food for many. And comfort will be in great demand in the coming weeks and months.”
Memphis in May’s barbecue and music festival has been postponed and will not take place in May. The organizers are working to find a new date in the fall and will announce a new date and additional details on Friday.
The popular Red Dirt BBQ and Music Festival, which was scheduled for May in Tyler, Texas, has been postponed to October 11.
Food & Wine writes that “in the age of coronavirus, restaurant sales are expected to decline by $225 billion over the next three months, leading to the loss of between five and seven million jobs.” The magazine also details stories around the country of restaurateurs trying to get by or shutting down altogether.
The Atlantic notes that the restaurant sector needs government help now and that “today there are about as many jobs in food service as in manufacturing. Restaurants are the new factories, and without them state and local economies across the country would fall to pieces.”
John Vergos, co-owner Charlie Vergo’s Rendezvous BBQ in Memphis spoke to Chris Vernon about “the detrimental effects the coronavirus outbreak is having on local food, travel, and service businesses throughout Memphis and the country as a result of social distancing.”
Home Team BBQ in Charleston, South Carolina has announced hundreds of layoffs across its four locations in hopes to survive past the coronavirus crisis.
Little Miss BBQ, one of the top joints in Arizona, has closed its doors temporarily. "We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure we can come out of this no problem," owner Scott Holmes said. "We’re definitely not closing forever. I think we started this whole thing with $35,000 and we can do it again."
Some BBQ joints have come to the rescue so to speak during the coronavirus crisis:
Orange County’s Heritage Barbecue offered 1,500 free meals to restaurant workers in need at an event to help the community.
Houston’s Killen’s offered free food to hospitality workers affected by coronavirus shutdowns.
Jack Stack Barbeque delivered boxed lunches to medical staff throughout Kansas City and set up a GoFundMe where people can help donate.
John Brotherton closed his Pfugerville, Texas restaurant Brotherton's Black Iron Barbecue to do community outreach, serving meals to homebound seniors, homeless people, and grocery employees. His other restaurant, Liberty BBQ, fed the staff at St. David's Hospital in Round Rock.
St. Louis' Sugarfire Smokehouse raised $8,000 for furloughed restaurant workers.
The Houston Chronicle’s Alison Cook is hopeful that the spirit of the barbecue line in Texas prevails in this new age of social distancing.
Speaking of lines, with restaurants in Austin being limited to carryout and delivery only, Franklin Barbecue’s hours-long lines have been replaced with traffic jams.
Nominations for the 2020 BBQ Hall of Fame are being accepted until mid-April. Anyone is eligible to fill out the online form with information on who you feel should be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The barbecue community suffered a huge loss with the recent passing of George Stone, father of world champion pitmaster Tuffy Stone.
Chowhound wrote about Atlanta chef Jiyeon Lee’s journey from Korean pop star to James Beard Award-nominated owner of the acclaimed restaurant Heirloom Market BBQ.
According to Robert Moss’ newsletter The ‘Cue Sheet, into Virginia and metropolitan Washington D.C. John Tanner will inspect and issue certificates to restaurants that cook their barbecue entirely with wood and/or charcoal.
Chicago Culinary Kitchen owners Greg and Kristina Gaardbo will be moving their popular restaurant to the southeast corner of Lake-Cook and Hicks roads from North Quentin Plaza in Palatine near Chicago.
Now that you’ve got lots of time on your hands while you hunker down at home, why not clean your smoker? Aaron Franklin talked to Texas Monthly to explain what you need to do.
Here are BBQ shows, podcasts, or books you should check out this week:
To pair with our Recipe of the Week below, here’s a technique on how to trim a Boston Butt Pork Shoulder from All Things BBQ.
Watch: How to Trim a Boston Butt Pork Shoulder — All Things BBQ
In this video, Chef Tom takes us back to barbecue basics with tips and techniques on how to trim a Boston butt pork shoulder for smoking. Before beginning to trim the pork butt, he feels around the roast and trims any small bone fragments or hard cartilage that may be left on the surface. Next, he removes all of the fat cap to expose the meat and trims under the false cap to remove both the fat and false cap layers. He next flips the butt over and trims any excess fat on the surface before finding the seam near the bone end of the butt. He then begins to pull the crevice open to carefully cut in-between the two muscles, trimming the excess fat, connective tissue and anything that is not meat from the inside of the opening. Watch here.
Listen: Shawn Walchef and Stover Harger of Cali Comfort BBQ — The BBQ Central Show
In this special bonus edition of the show, host Greg Rempe talks with Shawn Walchef and Stover Harger from Cali Comfort BBQ in San Diego, California. Greg talks with them about the direct impact of coronavirus on business. Walchef and Harger are incredibly open about the reality of trying to make a restaurant work in this crazy, uncertain, and limiting environment. Listen to the episode here.
Read: Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto — by Aaron Franklin and Jordan MacKay
2020 marks the fifth anniversary of the book Franklin Barbecue. In this much-anticipated debut, Franklin and coauthor Jordan Mackay unlocked the secrets behind truly great barbecue and shared years’ worth of hard-won knowledge. Franklin Barbecue is a definitive resource for the backyard pitmaster, with chapters dedicated to building or customizing your own smoker; finding and curing the right wood; creating and tending perfect fires; sourcing top-quality meat; and of course, cooking ridiculously delicious barbecue, better than you ever thought possible. Buy it here.
BBQ pulled pork is a perfect item to try making when you’re cooped up at home.
BBQ Pulled Pork Shoulder — All Things BBQ
In this week’s Recipe of the Week, Chef Tom from All Things BBQ shows us how to make perfectly juicy pulled pork every time. After trimming the cut, Chef Tom injects the pork butt then seasons with layers of two different rubs. He smokes until it has achieved a nice dark mahogany color on the outside. He then continues cooking until the blade bone can be easily pulled out of the pork butt, and the pork is tender enough to “pull” or shred. View the recipe here.
In light of the constantly changing coronavirus crisis, we will be leaving this section blank for the next few weeks. Many events you know and love are canceled or postponed and more are likely to come. We’ll be updating the events section on our website with the most up-to-date information as we have it.
See the full Smoke Sheet events calendar online here.
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