Day One. Now What?

OK, our first day of operation went great. I didn't know what to expect, after all we'd never sold BBQ before. But, low and behold, we had 5 customers for lunch and all of them ordered pork - two had sliced pork and three had pulled pork. One customer, about at 3pm pulled up and ordered one pound of brisket and one pound of pulled pork.

Then came darkness and no one came for dinner. I kind of expected that. After all, most folks call and make reservations months in advance at their favorite place and it was colder than, well any place only Al Gore could appreciate. Table for one and two Polar Bears.

So, New Year's Day, come on by and see us. I was pleased with the way things went.

Eat More "Cue in 2010

Everyone always makes silly New Year's resolutions and most of them never see Groundhog Day, well we have another reason to derail those "notions" right out of the gate. Come by Chain Gang BBQ's new location in Nixa and have some BBQ because we'll be open New Year's Eve AND New Year's Day.

We got our trailer set up today and the electrical was "hot-to-trot" so we're getting geared up for our first day in business. Hope to see you there.

We've got plenty of ribs, briskets, chickens, hot links and Pit Chili. All that's missing is you.

There's Now And Then There's Then

Well, first thing this morning I called the Nixa Electric folks knowing we'd passed final inspection Christmas Eve to see when our meter would be installed. I'd been told last week that it would be 1-3 business days, but needed to know so we could open. Well, I'd called at 9am and was told I'd hear back from them in a few minutes. Hummm!

Time passes quickly. It's now high noon and no call back. I decided to take a drive by for a look-see and low and behold A METER!!! Chain Gang BBQ has its own electrical meter. I felt like Steve Martin in "The Jerk," when he proclaimed "I'm somebody now." Well, anyway, once I get my first electric bill I'm sure the enthusiasm will dwindle.

So with meter in hand, we signed the lease with the Bridge Church this afternoon and we hope to open Thursday, December 31, 2009.

As an aside, and not many people know this, about the time my BBQ skills began, I was GM of KWTO and we featured to the community a hot air balloon race. We invited 40+ pilots, families, chase crews, advertisers, and friends to one big HUGE barbeque dinner prepared by yours truly. I rented a HUGE smoker with a hydraulic lid to access the pit. I did ribs, turkeys, chickens, briskets and I don't know what else. The smoke filtered through the entire neighborhood and soon, folks came down the streets like Zombies, drooling for some 'cue. Well, to make a short story long, we fed everyone and the room was as quiet as a church.

Before I knew it, one of the balloon pilots, related to the owner of Silver Dollar City approached me and asked me to go to work for SDC and run their BBQ joint. What?? Well, I never took them up on it, but maybe everything worked out for the best.

I wonder if Silver Dollar City has room for a Chain Gang?

Chain Gang's New Website

We have completed construction of our web site. I've been working on it a little at a time, but got it completed and uploaded today.

The address is   www.chaingangbarbeque.com  We feature our full menu and a map to guide you to our trailer. I'm hopeful we'll be up and running the week of 12/28/09. We had our final inspection of the electrical hook-up yesterday - I'm not sure we passed - but the last hurdle is to get our meter installed.

I'll keep you posted, but regardless, we'll be up and smokin' in 2010.

BBQ So Good, A Vegetarian Could Eat It

Sorry for not posting much lately, but man it has been goofy. We had to prepare for the Nixa Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting on December 21, 2009 so that took some strategic planning for completion of four sides, pit chili and 8 types of meats. But we pulled it off and arrived at the C of C with only minutes to spare. Man, that was nuts; almost like being at a cook-off.

I should have photos of the ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow that I can upload, but it was a huge success.

Since I came up with the idea of "Pit Chili" I wasn't sure how well it would be received. Well, let me tell you, that was one of the first dishes that went the quickest; and I do mean quick. Brisket and sliced Pork Tenderloin went quickly as well. We put four squeeze bottles on the table, each one containing a BBQ sauce and I was curious which type would go over the best. Without a doubt my Original Recipe came in first, followed by Holy Chipotle, Carolina Mustard and dead last was an Eastern Carolina vinegar based sauce.

But the priceless moment came after everyone had finished their meal. Come to find out, one of the chamber members was a vegetarian. I thought, great; talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but no. I feel like stealing the insurance company line, "so easy a caveman could do it" but replace it with "BBQ so good, even a vegetarian could eat it." Let me tell you, she did. That woman ate every type of meat we put out; from brisket to burnt ends to hot links to pork. BAM!

How many of you BBQ guys out there has converted a vegetarian with your cooking?

We Are Go For Launch

Even though the temps never got above freezing this afternoon, we did pass our final health inspection allowing us to finally open the doors. Once we get the health department permit then we can get the others, so maybe we can open the week of December 14, 2009. If not, it'll be Christmas week which I'm not wild about, but I want to get going. Not to mention the fact we have our Chamber ribbon cutting on December 21 and I also want to treat the Nixa Fire Department to our Pit Chili because these guys don't get the recognition they deserve and they would love a free dinner at their place.

Also, another development today. We sent in our fee to attend a two-day seminar in Murphysboro, Illinois with "The Legend" Mike Mills at his 17th Street Bar & Grill. It's a hands-on training event to teach the in's and out's of running a BBQ joint. I've attended his class on competition BBQ techniques, but I can't tell you how fired up I am to attend this event. The entry fee wasn't bad, but the information and knowledge will be priceless.

I know of no other Pitmasters from around here who have taken as much "continuing education" as we have invested in and I know it will be a valuable asset in the day-to-day operations of Chain Gang BBQ.

Ice, Ice, Baby

Well, what can I say. Our final health inspection did happen on Friday with one exception; they couldn't test our hot water because the water lines had frozen!! I walked into the trailer Friday morning to discover the temp had fallen to 16 degrees and knew we were in big trouble.

I tried to get the heat up, but I needed more time, so our final final health inspection will be Monday December 7 and then we can get our permits to open the doors, well at least a serving window. Hopefully the wintery weather being forecast for Tuesday won't decide to show up early.

By the way, if you follow this blog you know I have all my meats in place except Chicken but that missing link has been filled in on our menu. We will be serving Raised Right Meats brand of organic, free range chicken. RMM does not use antibiotics or growth stimulants or genetically altered feed. Another great aspect of using their chickens is they're raised locally in Bois D'Arc, and we are happy to offer their chickens to you. Their products must be good, I found them at the Farmers Market this morning and noticed they were selling eggs for $4+ a dozen. When I asked to buy a dozen the owner told me they started out the day with 78 dozen and were sold out by 10am.

The owner, Kip Glass and I were discussing how meats and produce had almost come full circle over the past 45-50 years. Back in those days people did buy their meats and veggies directly from the farmer, but then it shifted to the Supermarkets and now, it's returning to the way folks used to buy their food.

Chain Gang BBQ Is Comin' To You

Here's the latest news regarding our opening in Nixa. One big hurdle has been passed and that was our passing the food handler examination that Christian County requires before you can even think about selling food to the public. Had we tanked on that, we might as well be selling BBQ on the Titanic.

Friday morning, another biggie: final inspection of our trailer by health inspectors. We should do fine. I hope.

Once we get our license from the county, we can then get our multiple permits from the city of Nixa such as business, water and electrical. With that out of the way, we sign our lease and boom, or should I quote Emril and say, "BAM" we up and running.

So, I doubt we'll be open December 9 but I feel kinda confident that December 16 is more likely....depending on how long it takes to snag the remaining permits.

Where there's smoke, there's some darn good 'cue waitin' for you.