The dawning of a new BBQ era: Tiny’s Bar-B-Que
CHATTIN’ WITH RED
By Red Todd
redtodd@ocmcast.net
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Photo by Red Todd
If the neon pig in the window is lit, Tiny’s Bar-B-Que is open. |
Earlier this year, I had announced that I was not going to be writing for a while because barbeque had consumed my life in the form of competing, catering, and vending at competitions. Well, folks, we’ve gone a step further by opening a BBQ joint.
Tiny’s Bar-B-Que opened at 2610 Eagle Valley Road in Mill Hall, PA, on October 14th of this year. Tiny, Kristal, and I followed our dream and went for it, but it sure wasn’t the easiest thing we’ve ever done. After months of trials and tribulations and dealing with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), we finally got the official go ahead to open the doors.
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Photo by Red Todd
Porky & Lil’ Red |
This new adventure wasn’t even in the cards for us until one day back in June, Tiny and I were driving past this vacant building and saw a “For Rent” sign on the window. This building had been sitting empty for six to seven years. It was an ice cream parlor years ago, and then it became a hoagie shop. When the owners of the hoagie shop refused to make the upgrades and repairs to the building and the landlord also refused, it was decided that the tenants would just retire and sell off their equipment.
In the end, the building and the house that also sits on the property were sold at a tax sale. The buyer is now a new landlord and boy is she learning a lot about her new position. When we inspected the place, it only had a corner style three-bay sink and a single counter in the kitchen. The dining area was completely empty, and the whole place needed a good scrubbing and some paint.
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Photo by Red Todd
BBQ pizza |
We noticed the flooring in the kitchen needed upgraded, as did the roofing over our side porch. The landlord (Sue) had her handyman make those changes, and during that process, we inspected even closer. It was determined that the HVAC system needed lots of repair, or even better, changed out. Sue had the system taken out and replaced it with a heat pump system and also had the water heater changed. They were the easy part - costly but easy.
While we were dealing with the Department of Agriculture to get our health permit, we also had to contact the DEP for a test on the well water that we have for the shop. They came and were really nice and informative to us. It was really appreciated that we were treated with respect and not talked down to as some people had told us they were. The representative was very cordial and did a thorough job for the state.
I’ve got to tell you, folks, it’s a totally different world where our shop is. While we were waiting for the results of the water test, the Department of Agriculture came for the physical inspection of our little part of the world. The inspector came and we didn’t even have as much as a hand-wash sink installed yet. We were in the midst of installing kitchen cabinets and counter tops, as well as appliances. The water test results weren’t back yet, and we still passed and got our license to open.
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Photo by Red Todd
BBQ Boli |
The first round of water tests came back and failed miserably. It was contaminated for sure and there was no way we could even do dishes with it. The DEP guy told us we needed to shock the well and then he’d come back to test it again. This was done and it failed again. We kept Sue informed all along the way about this issue, but she wanted to try and go cheap on us and just shock the system yet again. The DEP guy told her outright that that treatment wouldn’t be enough, but she insisted, so we did it again. Of course, it didn’t work, and in the end she had to have a filtration and chlorination system installed to the tune of $3000. Fact is now she has a happy tenant, and we have a certificate that allowed us to open.
We opened our joint with only cash out of pocket, and we just love operating this way. It feels so good to know that we don’t owe anyone anything. We’re thinking that with just our monthly bills and operating expenses, we might just be able to make a decent living with this whole barbeque thing. We understand the recession and everything, but we also understand that people love to eat, and they absolutely love good food, so we built it and they are coming.
The people love our pork, brisket, and ribs, and they really like our BBQ pizzas, Panini’s, wraps, and BBQ Boli. BBQ Boli? Yep, we take a small pizza dough and put smoked beans, pork, brisket, mac-n-cheese, our original sauce, and some pizza cheese in it. We fold it over, slice three holes in it and bake it in our pizza oven with some pizza topping on it. We then offer it with our original sauce as a dipping sauce.
So folks, if you’re ever in Mill Hall, PA, and you’re hungry for some good que or other good eats, stop on by. If our neon pig in the window is lit, it means we’re open. Come on in and have your picture taken with our four-foot high Porky Pig and Lil’ Red. Until next time folks, take care and be safe. |
