Can BBQ Restaurants afford to serve great BBQ?

Lake Dogs said:

Exactly why I'm not in the business... Wife knows I have many years restaurant experience and am a pretty darned good BBQ cook (per her). She has said probably 1,000 times (no joke) "you should have a BBQ joint".
The margins are just too small. Here in GA they expect the sit-down experience. BBQ isn't "made to order", so keeping it fresh (to the standard that I'd require) is extremely difficult, and frankly, NOT INEXPENSIVE.

BBQ, when it's fresh and cooked well, is darned near magical to eat. However, it doesn't take long to lose that magic and become ho-hum. Even at ho-hum, it's still tough to make ends meet. Around here they must SELL SELL SELL the liquids to make a profit.

Franklin in Austin TX has it right. But, getting going he probably had a lot of sleepless nights and a tough time making the rent until he built the reputation that he so rightfully deserves. Yes, if you can get people to come in and order like this, you can turn out top-of-the-line Q.

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I think the ideal situation (at least for me) is having a road side vending setup in a heavy populated location. Where you could setup at lunch and during the evenings (for people picking up a plate going home).

I know a guy that does tamales this way. He has a little setup that he can run by himself. It's not a sit down thing. He is on a main road that leads to a ton of housing communities. There's about 35,000 cars that pass him everyday going to and from work. He setup for lunch and in the evening. I don't know how he does for lunch but I can tell you in the evening when those 35,000 cars are coming home from work. He has a steady line everyday of the week. I doubt he's getting filthy rich but my guess is his profit margin is MUCH MUCH higher than most brick and mortar places, due to his low overhead.

Since Georgia is a melting pot of different BBQ styles, and most restaurants serve almost every type of Q..Brisket, Pork, Ribs, Chicken, Sausage...I try to find the one thing that each restaurant is really good at. That way, when I go to a restaurant in the Atlanta area, I know I am going specifically to get one meat. It's taken years of eating each meat at each restaurant to form my personal (professional :wink opinions

I think you guys are looking at this from the wrong angle. You're thinking, "with rising meat and labor prices, how would you serve good BBQ at these prices and make money?"

I don't think that's the right question to ask. I think the right question is, "what experience would a restaurant need to deliver in order to charge significantly more for BBQ?"

Think about the rise of other regional or ethnic food like Mexican or Thai. Both had humble beginnings in the US as low-cost options. However, both have moved upstream and now some of the best (and most expensive) restaurants in the country specialize in this cuisine.

So - how does BBQ do this? How does a restauranteur capitalize on the BBQ trend with a cool restaurant that gives such a great customer experience that they're willing to pay more? There's a place here in my home town that is doing a good job: http://www.saintlawrencegridiron.com/. Notice the long and thorough wine/beer list...these types of restaurants can move tons of the liquid.

Combine great food and a cool experience, and you can charge enough $'s to make awesome BBQ AND good profits.

Anyway...just a thought, but what do I know?

There are a lot of good answers here, and valuable information, but to me answering the original question is much simpler.
The fact that there are long-time, and I assume profitable, BBQ restaurants that serve great BBQ and are in existence right now proves that it is possible, so the answer to the OP is yes.

Actually pulling it off? Possible, but very difficult.

The answer is simple. Can they afford not to? If u don't put out a product the consumer is willing to continue parting with his/her money for u will not continue as a company.

srfshane said:

I think you guys are looking at this from the wrong angle. You're thinking, "with rising meat and labor prices, how would you serve good BBQ at these prices and make money?"

I don't think that's the right question to ask. I think the right question is, "what experience would a restaurant need to deliver in order to charge significantly more for BBQ?"

Think about the rise of other regional or ethnic food like Mexican or Thai. Both had humble beginnings in the US as low-cost options. However, both have moved upstream and now some of the best (and most expensive) restaurants in the country specialize in this cuisine.

So - how does BBQ do this? How does a restauranteur capitalize on the BBQ trend with a cool restaurant that gives such a great customer experience that they're willing to pay more? There's a place here in my home town that is doing a good job: http://www.saintlawrencegridiron.com/. Notice the long and thorough wine/beer list...these types of restaurants can move tons of the liquid.

Combine great food and a cool experience, and you can charge enough $'s to make awesome BBQ AND good profits.

Anyway...just a thought, but what do I know?

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Nail on the head there. Selling lots of adult beverages increases the chance of a successful, profitable operation by a large margin.

Shane and all, there have been some places out here that have made runs at serving high end clientele, with elevated takes on American comfort foods and BBQ, one that comes to mind is Wexler's in San Francisco. There have been a few others. They really make their trade on the beverage list.

I would have to say though, that the BBQ is not great, by Brethren standards, it is excellent food, but, most here would probably pan the food in general, and especially at the prices they charge.

I don't think you can use the metric that a restaurant has been in business for a long time, or become quite successful, and consider that the BBQ is good. Again, there are many tastes and many reasons a restaurant does well. Most Brethren I know will not go to a Famous Dave's. Yet, if you look at it from a business point of view, you can't take anything away from him, he delivers a great experience, and food and value that people seem to love.

A little Q joint can do a great job. But the same meat as I do, use the same equipment, put some love and fun into it, and provide a variety of sauces on the side. Shut down when it sells out.

Large scale...NO! Chili's :barf:...Famous Dave's, should be infamous

RevZiLLa said:

A little Q joint can do a great job. But the same meat as I do, use the same equipment, put some love and fun into it, and provide a variety of sauces on the side. Shut down when it sells out.

Large scale...NO! Chili's :barf:...Famous Dave's, should be infamous

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I think you hit the nail on the head.

landarc said:

Beef prices are unavoidable, the factors have not changed.

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Corn futures trading at below $4.00 a bushel says at least some of the factors have changed. I partially blame market speculators for beef prices...

srfshane said:

I think you guys are looking at this from the wrong angle. You're thinking, "with rising meat and labor prices, how would you serve good BBQ at these prices and make money?"

I don't think that's the right question to ask. I think the right question is, "what experience would a restaurant need to deliver in order to charge significantly more for BBQ?"

Think about the rise of other regional or ethnic food like Mexican or Thai. Both had humble beginnings in the US as low-cost options. However, both have moved upstream and now some of the best (and most expensive) restaurants in the country specialize in this cuisine.

So - how does BBQ do this? How does a restauranteur capitalize on the BBQ trend with a cool restaurant that gives such a great customer experience that they're willing to pay more? There's a place here in my home town that is doing a good job: http://www.saintlawrencegridiron.com/. Notice the long and thorough wine/beer list...these types of restaurants can move tons of the liquid.

Combine great food and a cool experience, and you can charge enough $'s to make awesome BBQ AND good profits.

Anyway...just a thought, but what do I know?

Click to expand...

There's a place a little outside Atlanta called Heirloom BBQ that has been featured on multiple shows that does some traditional q and then has a Korean spin on lots of it's dishes. So the outside the box ideas do work, but very much depends on the demographic that makes up that area. Around us a fusion bbq place probably wouldn't fly.

Adding liquor/drinks to the mix certainly makes profit margins higher, though adds another level of difficulty to pull off the complete package as you have to do that well too or else you won't get repeat bar customers that also come for food. That also extends hours for staffing and restaurant. For a bbq joint that already needs to estimate quantities to cook for the day, keeping those numbers going to later in the evening makes quality and estimating control even more difficult. Though you could have a limited menu after certain hours.

I'd be interested to know if there are any successful bbq restaurants, that are primarily bbq (not burgers and grilled stuff that can easily be fired to order) that also have a full bar late into the evening. We just have beer.

Pb's BBQ said:

Corn futures trading at below $4.00 a bushel says at least some of the factors have changed. I partially blame market speculators for beef prices...

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Others here may know more than I do in terms of the feed and fuel costs. I have never bought the "corn" price issue in terms of the cost of beef.

What I speak of is that many herds in California, Southern Oregon, Texas, Oklahoma and the upper Mid-west have been reduced heavily by inclement weather. Doesn't matter what feed costs if there are no animals to feed. When you look at California being the 4th largest producer of beef in the country, and the fact that in early 2014, most ranchers sold all of their herds down to minimum breeding stock, there is a shortage of animals.

landarc said:

Others here may know more than I do in terms of the feed and fuel costs. I have never bought the "corn" price issue in terms of the cost of beef.

What I speak of is that many herds in California, Southern Oregon, Texas, Oklahoma and the upper Mid-west have been reduced heavily by inclement weather. Doesn't matter what feed costs if there are no animals to feed. When you look at California being the 4th largest producer of beef in the country, and the fact that in early 2014, most ranchers sold all of their herds down to minimum breeding stock, there is a shortage of animals.

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Most of the beef we eat ultimately gets finished in CAFO's and is fed strictly corn. There is a direct relationship between beef prices and corn prices. When corn is trading at $ 7/bushel a couple years ago and goes down to $4/bushel...

What incentive is there for a farmer to grow their heard when they know this will cause a decrease in beef prices? They can make more with less...

Small cap. beef operations will be the ones throwing money at growing herd size IMHO.

fnbish said:

Omar most q joints in ga are price about the same from my research. I think the misconception is BBQ is cheap. It may be at home, but take food cost add labor, overhead and well it gets more expensive. When I first saw the numbers it was very eye opening.

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My remark about it being over priced, was based on the overall quality in MY OPINION, and not price in general. I have been to a lot of BBQ restaurants, that the price was comparable to a good steak house, and I felt they were reasonable in what they charged. I have been in business for myself and fully realize what it takes to make a profit, albeit a small profit margin. You can not stay in business if you do not provide a product or service that will generate new and or repeat business, and make a profit at the same time. No profit, no business.

As others can probably attest to, they have been encouraged to "Open a restaurant and sell your BBQ" from friends and family. While it sounds good on the surface, I have fun cooking my Q! But, if I had to do it day in and day out on a continuous basis whether or not I felt like it, it would no longer be FUN! My motto at my age is "no fun, no doee!" I will continue to look for a good place to eat BBQ out on occasion.

There is one place that I have returned to several times that has edible and sometimes good Q, called The Rib Ranch. It has a Texas themed interior, right down to a large mounted rattlesnake, and pictures of Bluebonnets on the wall. Their pulled pork is fairly consistent, and once in a while you can get some decent brisket. Not the best in the world, but edible.

Omar

Bamabuzzard said:

I think the ideal situation (at least for me) is having a road side vending setup in a heavy populated location. Where you could setup at lunch and during the evenings (for people picking up a plate going home).

I know a guy that does tamales this way. He has a little setup that he can run by himself. It's not a sit down thing. He is on a main road that leads to a ton of housing communities. There's about 35,000 cars that pass him everyday going to and from work. He setup for lunch and in the evening. I don't know how he does for lunch but I can tell you in the evening when those 35,000 cars are coming home from work. He has a steady line everyday of the week. I doubt he's getting filthy rich but my guess is his profit margin is MUCH MUCH higher than most brick and mortar places, due to his low overhead.

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Very true. Overhead is what eats up most restaurants. I use Eastern North Carolina as an example. The best Q places are usually walk up. One pit master that may stay up all night, two servers at the counter, one chopper, and a person in the back making sides. The pit master also makes sides when not tending the fire. I say pit master because he is not a 17 year old that knows nothing. These five people can easily put out 2000 lunches a day. There are limited hours because they now when to serve and when to close. BTW carrying meat over to the next day is OK. In a sit down place how often do you see the owner dishing food?

captndan said:

Very true. Overhead is what eats up most restaurants. I use Eastern North Carolina as an example. The best Q places are usually walk up. One pit master that may stay up all night, two servers at the counter, one chopper, and a person in the back making sides. The pit master also makes sides when not tending the fire. I say pit master because he is not a 17 year old that knows nothing. These five people can easily put out 2000 lunches a day. There are limited hours because they now when to serve and when to close. BTW carrying meat over to the next day is OK. In a sit down place how often do you see the owner dishing food?

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The roadside idea or even food truck is great considering the overhead is low.......but around here you have to have the health department inspected commissary, which brings that overhead back up. So in lots of places you can't just setup on the side of the road or in a parking lot and start selling food. At least not legally :becky:.

RevZiLLa said:

A little Q joint can do a great job. But the same meat as I do, use the same equipment, put some love and fun into it, and provide a variety of sauces on the side. Shut down when it sells out.

Large scale...NO! Chili's :barf:...Famous Dave's, should be infamous

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That's what I meant when I talked about not losing their BBQ soul. What you say is exactly right. Once the accountants, efficiency experts and time studies show up, out goes the soul!

We have a BBQ place hear that is the home store to a chain. When it was started, this place had some really good Q and a line out the door, along the front walk and around the end of the store for lunch and supper.

Now that the man who started it no longer owns it and it has become a large chain, it is not as good --- still tasty, but not as good.

The other day we were working "out in the middle of nowhere" and the nearest place for lunch was 20 or more minutes away .... except for a "hole in the wall" BBQ place.

According to the walls, they have won several BBQ awards in competition. The place is small, only about 6 tables inside and a few more under the awning out front. The parking is in the dirt with the vehicle across the sidewalk ....

The Q ...... we had the pulled pork sandwich (it was the special for that day) and the drink was included (nice) .... the Q was great!

I usually do not go for a mustard based sauce, but they had one I tasted that had me putting that on my pork instead of my usual selection of "red" sauce with plenty of heat.

If it were not so far from where I live, I would definitely take the wife back there for a meal.

They seem to be making good/great Q, selling it for an affordable price and keeping the doors open ... so, I guess it can be done.