BBQ Spots Shutting Down

[triplebq]

In Texas we have a rash of BBQ joints locking up and calling it a day . Is it due to we cooking so much Q at home , the price of meat or have they gotten rich and just are cashing in ?

One guy in Euless is still open but only on Fri,Sat and Sun . He is retired but still at least cooking for the public .

There are a couple of places I hope don't close but I have them covered at home if they do . What about your neck of the woods ? Is BBQ still bringing in the crowds or do you just Q @ home ?

 

[reeko]

I have heard that the economy has been especially hard on restaurants.
Most people concider going out to eat as a luxury and are now cooking at home more to save money.

Don't think it is just a BBQ issue, but perhaps people are finding that they can do Q at home for much cheaper.

 

[fatback joe]

Sorry to hear that.

In my neck of the woods..........well, there just ain't much BBQ period.

 

[chisoxjim]

around here(Chicagoland) there seems to be a new one opening up every month or so.

 

[chisoxjim]

Of the 5 or six that opened in the last 1/2 of the year, I only have eaten @ one, and it was ok(juicy ribs, with very little rub flavor, or smoke flavor, and bone dry pulled pork). The others I havent heard good things about.

 

[ciolli]

I would tend to disagree. If your dream is to open a BBQ joint you should be tickled pink that places are closing up shop, because it's decreasing the supply. When demand increases again, aka when the economy turns around, it will be a more lucrative market.

 

[triplebq]

You may be right on the money . But it's not a great sign when so many have gone under or out for whatever reason . ( I have no clue what happened to my last post that yours responded to . ) I always have thought there is always room for one more good one !

 

[mballi3011]

We here in northeast Fla we have a bunch of them but there's only one I would even think about going into and I know the owners. We have a couple of big chain bbq places that I would rather eat my shoe then go into any of them.

 

[schmoke]

I tend to agree that the economy is hitting restaurants harder than many other businesses. That seems to be the case in my area.

 

[brooklynboy]

I think there are a number of factors here and not just for BBQ joints.
The first of course is the economy in general, but I also don't think many people realize the amount of work required for a small business of any sort.

I've seen many long term businesses shut down not necessarily becasue there was no business but because the current owners were getting older, and could not find a buyer. They wanted to retire or slow down.

The kids didn't want it becasue they saw the hours the patents worked. While the overall money may not have been bad when calculated as an hourly rate, some owners do not make a lot of $$.

Also the 'old' owner in many cases had already long paid off there note or mortgage which gave them a much lower nut each month.

Now you have new owners who have a mortgage or loan which is a major nut to crack each month. They hire more help becasue they do not want to work all of the hours themselves.

Suddenly there is more $$ out than in.

Than the get into a hole and can't make there payments.

And none of that even factors in if they have a good product.

My $0.02

 

[ciolli]

Yeah statistically the restaurant business has one of the highest attrition rates in business. Lots of factors i think play into it. First, and probably most important, is that people eat out with disposable income. If income decreases at all, the disposable portion is hit first. Meaning less fun money, and less eating out. Also, I think too often people open restaurants because they can cook, but don't know squat about running a business. I've been thinking about this lately, and based on my own observation, I would think that a BBQ joint would be up there with one of the hardest to manage simply because of the time it takes to create the product. I mean 12+ hrs for brisket and pork shoulder, 5+ on ribs, etc would be a managers nightmare to try and forecast how much to produce on a daily (nightly) basis... Too much and your margins plummet because you have tons of left over unsold food, and too little and people leave pissed because you run out. You can see how a steakhouse would be the opposite... 15 mins for a steak from cooler to plate, wham bam thank you ma'am, done. Perhaps this is why more people turn to catering instead of a la carte style food service with BBQ... Just a thought.

 

[the pup]

In the true old-timey BBQ tradition of burning wood for coal and shoveling it into a pit to sustain a 20-24 hour BBQ...I can see why few folks would work so hard for such small margins (difficult to insure a business based on flames for flavor too).

 

[solaryellow]

Commercial BBQ is alive and well around here. I haven't seen any go out of business although there are more than a few that ought to based on the crap they serve.

 

[georgialee]

We have a few old timers that will always be busy. The big chains survive on their name and not the true quality of food.
I don't think that the majority of people have ever tasted true, well cared for BBQ. Famos Dave's was all that I knew until I was out of college. It just depends on what you are exposed to. A lot of the tourist assume that what they are getting is the good stuff, but as most people on here know it aint even close!
Some small time BBQ places are popping up and closing down quickly while they try to make a quick buck, but as someone else said they are probably financing themselves thru the roof.
I am now enjoying cooking at home and trying new recipes and discovering our own. Plus with two young boys it is easier to put them outside to play while I get smokin!
-Ben

 

[blacklab]

Took the words right out of my mouth or hands

There's a corner stand bbq in my area that's awsome but pricey. Then there's several restaunt's some chains that are awful. I have to agree if the food is good you will have business and repeat business. How you manage it matters on keeping it

 

[chisoxjim]

thats interesting, the Famous Daves, Carsons Ribs, & SMokey Bones are going out of business & boarding up their locations, but the small independant places that actually smoke are the ones popping up around here.

 

[downstatesmoker]

Around here we are getting more and more places opening up, though most of them don't really smoke due to either local ordinances prohibiting it or complaints from the neighbors which has shut down more than one place.

 

[shlongstar]

Hey Solaryellow, I just noticed you're in Winston Salem.

I was there for four years for school, and that's where I realized that my California idea of BBQ (aka grilling) was definitely NOT BBQ :)

My favorite place was Little Richard's BBQ... I lived literally 2 mins away. Heck, I even thought Cookout's pulled pork was good, which is probably the 'crap' you're talking about? haha

 

[chef jeff tx]

Not sure how it is by you Buddy but in the Houston area BBQ is all about the big chains but even they are suffering a bit. Used to be a Luther's on every other corner. They were bought out by Pappas a few years ago and several were closed. Smokey Bones opened about a dozen places here in that same time period but they were horrible & way over priced so they didn't last a year. Pappas & Goode Co. both have big followings but I'm not a fan of either. Spring Creek is ok but not worth the wait to get in.

There are several really good Mom & Pop places around but they suffer from either limited hours or very limited production so you can wait on line forever and they run out of food.

About the only two places I go for Q anymore are Mo's in Humble and Hickory Hollow in the Height's. I hit up New Zion if I'm around Huntsville on weekend but my daughters don't go to SHSU anymore so I won't be there much and the quality of their food, especially the sides has gone down hill so not worth a special trip up there anymore.

I may have a high opinion of myself but when it comes to Q, "There's No Place Like HOME!!"

Seems like the folks in this area are trying to go more upscale these days as there is an upswing in gourmet places so it's not a overall down turn in the biz. There's even one place, Beaver's, which is owned by a James Beard Award winning chef, that touts itself as Gourmet Q. Been there twice and won't be back. Over priced, fancied up, not good Q. First clue it wasn't gonna be good was the fact that they have a Wine List!

And it's more extensive then the beer list!!

Seems to be real popular with the yuppie, PETA, vegan, rainbow flag, alternative lifestyle crowd.

 

[jrd]

Here in Racine, Wisconsin there is NOTHING! Unless I want to drive to Milwaukee or Kenosha to go to Famous Dave's.

I think like others have said, it has to do with our economy. People can no longer afford to go out and eat. They are learning to make the foods they use to go out to eat. With all the shows on TV and all the information on the internet, people are learning to do the things they use to have to pay someone else to do for them.

John