Starting a BBQ Business: The Ultimate Guide

So You Want to Open a Barbecue Restaurant

While arguments about the best type of barbecue have been ongoing since slabs of meat first met smoky heat, every foodservice business owner can agree on one thing: Starting a BBQ business isn't a walk in the park. There are a thousand decisions to make, from finding the right location and getting the necessary permits to choosing the best equipment and perfecting a recipe to get the flavor you want. Knowing where and how to start can seem overwhelming, but this guide will help walk you through the basics of how to start a BBQ business and make the process a little more manageable.

Table of Contents

  1. BBQ Restaurant Business Models
  2. Creating a BBQ Business Plan
  3. BBQ Restaurant Licensing and Insurance
  4. Developing a Delicious BBQ Menu
  5. Choosing a Location for Your BBQ Business
  6. Essential BBQ Restaurant Equipment
  7. Marketing Your New BBQ Stand

Deciding Which BBQ Business Model is Best for You

Before you start writing up a business plan or scouting locations and vendors, you must decide what type of barbecue business you want to open. Just like most other restaurants, barbecue eateries have a variety of formats and operational procedures. You can start a barbecue business that's limited to just catering, for example. Or you could open a roadside barbecue stand or shack. A traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant is always a fine option, while operating a food truck may be a better fit for certain budgets and locations. Almost all aspects of starting a BBQ business are affected by the type of service you want to offer, so the first step in opening a BBQ restaurant is to compare the pros and cons of each option.

Below, we'll discuss different business types and cover some key aspects unique to each.

How to Start a BBQ Catering Business

A BBQ catering business offers a mix of B2C and B2B sales opportunities and has the potential for high payoffs if executed successfully. If you want to know how to start a BBQ catering business or wonder if this business model is right for you, some preliminary considerations can make the decision easier.

A good place to start is market research. Evaluate potential locations for your business, as well as nearby clientele, and check out the local competition.

  1. Consider the demographics of each location's surrounding area. Are there plenty of businesses, vacation rentals, wedding destinations, corporate retreats, or event centers near the spot where you'll set up your kitchen?
  2. Think about the type of events that are likely to select barbecue catering. Research local event coordinators, party planners, vacation rentals, and other potential partners. Make a list of which ones you want to contact when your business launches, and develop a marketing strategy to promote your business and build connections.
  3. Gather information on competitors. How many other catering companies service the same area? Do any of them offer barbecue? What menu items or services can you offer to set your business apart from the rest?

Just like any other foodservice business, you'll need to register your business and obtain necessary licenses and inspections prior to opening. Make sure the location you're considering is zoned for this type of business and gather information from local government resources to establish what requirements you'll have to meet.

Bear in mind that, while a catering business typically doesn't require a storefront, restaurant furniture, or waitstaff, you'll need to invest in other ways. Catering often requires specific equipment for holding, transporting, and serving food safely, as well as one or more large trucks or vans to carry the food and staff. Most catering services include setting up, serving, and clearing away food during the event, so you'll either have to take care of those duties yourself or hire additional staff to do it for you. Some common catering equipment includes:

More tips on equipping your catering business can be found in this guide to catering supplies and this overview of Cambro food carriers.

Starting a Roadside BBQ Stand

Starting a roadside BBQ stand is very similar to starting a brick-and-mortar restaurant – location matters! Identify local routes that have a significant volume of traffic each day, and look for places where travelers already stop, such as gas stations, rest stops, and campgrounds. Areas that already attract traffic and entice consumers to stop and hang out for a while are where your barbecue stand can thrive.

Determine in which jurisdiction the prospective location falls and research local requirements for foodservice establishments. Starting a roadside BBQ stand can be lucrative; it may fall outside of city ordinances, so getting licensed could be simple. Real estate outside any major cities often is significantly cheaper than anything in town, and you're likely to face less competition, as well.

Keep in mind, however, that if travel in the area suddenly slows down or stops altogether, your business may dry up, and if travelers begin taking a new route, it could be permanent. The volume of travel often fluctuates seasonally, so make such to research the busiest and slowest times of day, month, and year along the route you choose. It may be more cost-effective to keep the business open only for certain hours of the day, days of the week, or seasonally a few months out of each year.

Finally, ensure the location you choose has plenty of space for customers to park their cars and that the area is well lit and welcoming to travelers.

How to Start a Mobile BBQ Business

Food trucks have never been more popular, and in large urban centers, their small size and mobility provide a unique method for attracting sales. Compared to buying or leasing a brick-and-mortar building, food trucks typically are cheaper to obtain and operate. They also can be moved from place to place, enabling operators to sell their products all over the city – at fairs and festivals, in city parks, to downtown business lunch crowds, and for midnight munchies bar crowds. For some operators, a food truck fits their business model, personality, and local economy to a tee.

Owning and operating a food truck, however, comes with its own challenges. You'll only be able to carry a limited amount of ingredients and must find creative ways to fit all the cooking equipment and supplies you need into a very small space. Additionally, if you plan to smoke your barbecue traditionally, you'll need to build a separate smokehouse to prepare the meat before transferring it to the truck for serving. If you're wondering how to start a mobile BBQ business, check out the prerequisites covered below.

  • You'll need a permit for mobile vending as well as a business license and health inspection.
  • You'll have to train or hire at least one certified food safety expert and may be required to get every employee certified before they can serve food from the truck.
  • There are some places you're not allowed to park your food truck, and this varies from one area to another. You'll need to do some in-depth research on where in your city you're allowed to park a food truck and for how long.
  • Some cities may require you to have a commercial kitchen even if you'll operate out of a truck.

It's also beneficial to research any local competitors as well as potential partners. Establish what other food trucks operate in the area and if any of them serve barbecue. Identify potential markets that are underserved and are likely to welcome a new food truck and then map out the areas where you'll begin selling. Get in touch with local event coordinators and sign up to become a vendor at local festivals, concerts, and other community events. Including these aspects in your business plan helps establish that you've done thorough research and may help you when it's time to apply for loans and financing.

Return to Top

Creating a BBQ Restaurant Business Plan

Developing a thoughtful barbecue restaurant business plan is one of the most important steps when planning how to start a BBQ business. This document will provide a blueprint for each step in the process, from conception to opening day. Business plans can vary widely from one industry to another, so to help get you started, we'll cover some important factors to consider when starting a BBQ business, such as licensing, menu development, location, and equipment.

Return to Top

Opening a BBQ Restaurant: Licensing & Insurance

To keep your restaurant on the right side of the law, you must apply for several licenses and permits. Hiring a business lawyer to help you navigate all the paperwork and red tape involved in securing such documentation can be an excellent upfront investment as it can save you considerable stress and money down the line. However, if that expense doesn't fit within your budget or you'd rather do it yourself, there are several resources designed to help small businesses get licensed on their own.

City and state requirements can vary from one area to another, so a good place to start is contacting your local chamber of commerce, city hall, and the small business association. Visiting some nearby businesses and asking around also can help; searching for online discussion boards and social media groups dedicated to local restaurants and businesses can turn up tips and advice from experienced restaurateurs.

  • Building Permits: You likely need a building permit if you plan to do renovations. These permits generally require your contractor to submit the plans for approval. Once your building is ready for business, you will need to get a building inspection and certificate of occupancy, which usually come from the fire commissioner.1
  • Business License: You will need to register your business with several levels of government, usually including local, state, and federal. A business license registers you locally, and in some cases, accompanies the state's retail sales license, which allows you to charge sales tax. The federal government will issue you an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Tax ID number so the IRS can start records on your business. Registering your business name also is important because it ensures that the name isn't taken already and prevents other local businesses from using the same name.
  • Sign Permits: Most local governments have restrictions on where you can put signs and how tall they can be. Additionally, some may require you to submit plans for your signs to be approved before you can begin construction or installation.
  • Food Handling Permits: To obtain a food handling permit, you usually must take a course in safe food handling practices, such as those offered by ServSafe®.2 Some states also offer government-sponsored courses, while others require an on-site inspection in addition to taking a class.
  • Liquor License: If you will be serving beer or mixed drinks at your restaurant, start researching how to get your liquor license as soon as possible, as that process can take a while. These permits and their requirements vary widely depending on your location and what you wish to serve.3

Insurance is a must-have for any business but is especially important when starting a barbecue business. Even with every safety measure possible, there is always the chance of sickness or theft, either of which could leave your business floundering if your insurance doesn't cover the catastrophe. General business liability insurance protects you from the costs of any litigation that may arise against your business as a result of sickness or accidents that occur on your property. Business crime insurance also is particularly important for a barbecue restaurant, as many commercial grills and smokers come on wheels and must be used outside, making them prime targets for thieves. This type of insurance also covers employee theft. Speak with an experienced insurance agent to make sure you get all the coverage you need to protect your restaurant's finances.

Return to Top

Developing a Delicious BBQ Menu

Developing a menu for a barbecue restaurant can be tricky. People have lots of opinions about what constitutes good barbecue, and those opinions vary widely by region. People from the Carolinas think of pork when they hear barbecue, but someone from Texas is likely to expect beef brisket and sausage alongside their ribs. Plenty of people think barbecue is anything prepared on an outdoor grill, but here we'll talk specifically about food cooked low and slow – at low temperatures for a long time – over hot, smoky flames and/or coals.

Just like the meat, sauces also vary: thick or thin; tomato, vinegar, or mustard based; cooked on the meat or served on the side. Depending which region someone is from, they might expect any one of a variety of sauces or may expect dry-rubbed meat instead. The type of barbecue that you'll have the most success with depends on your clientele's expectations and willingness to experiment.

When deciding which methods and flavors to focus on in your restaurant, consider where you're located and whether you want to offer your customers something familiar or new. Below is a summary of some basic barbecue types from each region:4

Considering Regional BBQ Methods

  • North Carolina boasts two barbecue types. Eastern North Carolina serves chopped whole hog, typically cooked in a pit with wood and topped with a vinegar and pepper sauce. The western end of the state often prefers "Lexington Style" barbecue, which is pork shoulder with a red sauce.
  • South Carolina is the home of "Carolina Gold," a mustard-based barbecue sauce served over chopped whole hog.
  • Tennessee is known for Memphis barbecue, where pork ribs are served either with a dry rub or basted and served with a thick, sweet, tomato-based sauce.
  • Kentucky makes its barbecue out of mutton, which is served with a Worcestershire-based sauce called "dip." Pork shoulder also is popular in Eastern Kentucky.
  • Missouri also has two barbecue styles. St. Louis barbecue is pork steak with a vinegar tomato sauce, while Kansas City uses pork, beef, chicken, and even fish with a molasses-and-tomato sauce. Kansas City also is the home of burnt ends, which are double-smoked pieces of brisket.
  • Texas is home to several barbecue styles, but the most popular meats are beef brisket and sausage, which typically are cooked with a simple dry rub and served without sauce. Pork or beef ribs complete the trinity of Texas barbecue and may be marinated in a simple, tomato-based or molasses-based barbecue sauce; more is served on the side for dipping.
  • Alabama serves mainly pork barbecue with a tomato-based sauce, but smoked chicken wings with a white mayonnaise-based sauce also are popular, particularly around Birmingham and in the northern part of the state.

Cooking Meat for Your BBQ Restaurant

A major consideration when starting a BBQ business is deciding how to cook the barbecue. The most traditional method involves smoking the meat in a "pit," which means cooking it for long periods of time over low heat. Most local health departments cannot allow a restaurant to cook outside, but in many cases, you can construct a separate building in which to smoke the meat.5 There is some debate among barbecue experts about how the type of wood used to smoke meat affects its flavor: Some claim the species of wood determines the flavor, while others say the region it was grown in has a much more profound effect. Generally, mesquite wood is considered to have the strongest flavor, while fruit-tree woods are the mildest, but nearly any non-resinous wood type can work.6 If you decide to cook in a pit, you will need to estimate your sales volume ahead of time and may need a method of rethermalizing food before serving it or keeping it warm without drying it out.

Some barbecue restaurants forego traditional cooking methods, instead choosing to smoke the meat in a commercial smoker or steam it before throwing it on a grill or griddle to sear the outside. However, true barbecue aficionados don't appreciate these shortcuts, so if you live in an area where people have strong opinions about barbecue, you may find better success cooking in a more traditional manner.

Developing BBQ Sauces and Dry Rubs

While some regions prefer to serve their barbecue with a dry rub, in most cases you will need to develop at least one barbecue sauce. Food and Wine suggests starting with the sauce type you want to focus on, whether it be tomato, mustard, vinegar, or mayonnaise based, and then experimenting with sweetener, spices, and additional ingredients until you find the perfect flavor. Some recipes even include fruit to add an extra layer to the sauce.7

Many customers appreciate variety, so it can sometimes be beneficial to offer more than one sauce. Some restaurants offer both sweet and tangy options, for instance, while others may offer spicy and mild. Restaurants located in spots where travelers from many different areas come to visit may want to choose more than one sauce base instead; offering mustard-based, tomato-based, and dry-rub options can help you cater to a larger crowd.

On the other hand, if you'll be serving barbecue to a local crowd who likes their barbecue a specific way, it might be better to focus your resources on developing just one style and flavor of dry rub or sauce. Developing a unique flavor and style while adhering to local demands can be time-consuming and difficult, but it also can provide a big payoff with local patrons.

Return to Top

Choosing a Location for Your BBQ Business

Finding the perfect location for opening a BBQ restaurant is a major determining factor in whether it's successful. As you begin looking at locations, have a basic idea of the size you need for both the dining room and the kitchen. Too large of a space may have you paying more rent than you can afford, but a lack of space may restrict your ability to grow your business. Make sure your kitchen holds enough equipment to cook for your customers in a timely manner and that the dining room can accommodate the number of tables you need comfortably. Total Food Service gives the following guidelines for space required per seat:8

  • Full-service Restaurant: 12 to 15 square feet
  • Counter Service: 18 to 20 square feet
  • Fast Food: 11 to 14 square feet

What is happening outside the building is just as important as what's inside. Visit the location to get a feel for traffic patterns for the days and times you plan to be open; for some traditional barbecue joints, this is weekends only. It's important to choose a location that has good visibility and nearby traffic channels, such as roads, bus stops, or subway stations. Other attributes to look for include proximity to a business park, military base, university, large apartment complex, or residential neighborhood that could help generate business. If the traffic is more vehicular than pedestrian, ensure there's adequate parking for the number of visitors you expect to receive.

If the location was not a restaurant previously, check if city zoning laws allow you to open one there. Are there any other restaurants nearby with whom you'll compete? Think about what will set you apart from other eateries in the district.

Last but certainly not least, keep your budget in mind. Be careful not to overreach, but don't be afraid to look at places a little out of your price range, as most property owners are open to some negotiation. The length and cost of the lease should be discussed, as well as whether the owner will handle lawn care or building maintenance. If the building is older, you may also be able to work out an agreement to get the electrical or plumbing systems upgraded if necessary.

Return to Top

Essential BBQ Restaurant Equipment

The equipment you purchase for the kitchen of your barbecue restaurant should be determined by a balance of what you need to cook your menu, what you have room for, and what you can afford. A reach-in refrigerator and reach-in freezer offer cold storage to help you keep food at safe temperatures until you are ready to cook it. These are available in one to three sections, but undercounter models can help you expand your storage further. You also will need either a commercial dishwasher or a three-compartment sink to meet dishwashing health codes.

Commercial smokers enable you to get the traditional smoky flavor some barbecue styles demand without cooking outside. These are available with cook-and-hold capabilities and range in size from small countertop units to full-size smokers capable of smoking full sides of beef or pork. However, restaurant operators in places such as Texas, Tennessee, and the Carolinas should be aware that people in those regions can have very strong opinions about how barbecue should be cooked and may not consider meat cooked in a smoker to be 'real' barbecue. In these areas, you may wish to consider building a barbecue pit to meet customer expectations, though you will need to consult your local health codes to see how to do so within their regulations.

A commercial outdoor grill can help you cook your barbecue traditionally while drawing in crowds with the smoke and smells it produces. These use gas or solid fuels like wood and charcoal to produce heat, may be covered or open, and often come on wheels to simplify transportation. To cook side dishes, you may need a commercial range, steamer, oven, or deep fryer.

In addition to equipping your kitchen, you must also consider the front of house. Restaurant tables can be bought as one piece or with bases and tops separate, and you can decide whether you want to offer chairs or booths for seating. You should select the drinkware and dinnerware that best meet your needs and fits the theme of your restaurant.

Return to Top

Marketing Your New BBQ Stand

Now you're ready to open, but who knows about it? Marketing is one of the most important aspects of opening a barbecue restaurant; you can't feed customers who don't know you exist. If your location is a bit out of the way, you may have more of an uphill battle than a restaurant located on a busy thoroughfare, but there are many ways to get the word out before opening your doors.

  • Social media is invaluable when it comes to marketing. If you use social media sites wisely, they can connect you with thousands of potential customers, even on a shoestring advertising budget.
  • Newspapers often are willing to run a story about a new business opening. Prepare a press release for your local media outlet to help spread the word. You may also want to consider running an ad with a coupon to entice people to try your food.
  • If your town allows them, consider using sidewalk signs to draw in new customers.
  • Television and radio ads can be costly, but if you have the budget for them, they can be a great way to reach more customers.

Remember that getting new customers in the door is only half the battle; you also want to keep them coming back. A great way to do that is to collect email addresses or phone numbers and start an email list or text club to send customers information about new menu items or promotions.

Return to Top

References

  1. Checklist: Licenses and Permits for a Restaurant. SCORE. Accessed September 2021.
  2. ServSafe. National Restaurant Association. Accessed September 2021.
  3. Legal Libations in Your New Restaurant. KaTom Blog. Accessed September 2021.
  4. The American Barbecue Regional Style Guide. Eater. Accessed September 2021.
  5. The Myth of Health Departments, Wood Cooking and Grandfathering. Free Times. Accessed September 2021.
  6. What You Need to Know About Wood, Smoke, and Combustion. Amazing Ribs. Accessed September 2021.
  7. 5 Steps to Creating Your Own Barbecue Sauce. Food & Wine. Accessed September 2021.
  8. How to Create a Restaurant Floor Plan. Total Food Service. Accessed September 2021.