By SCOTT AUST / Greater Garden City
As a Texas native, barbecue holds a special place in Frank Piccone’s heart.
A serious backyard hobbyist for 30 years, Piccone and his wife Beth McDonald took the leap into making a barbecue restaurant a little over a year ago inside the Main Street Food Hall.
Now, they are moving into their own building at 210 E. Spruce Street, in what formerly housed Loving’s Bakery. A ribbon cutting and grand opening is scheduled at noon this Friday, Aug. 21.
“I’m ready for it to open up,” Frank said. “It’s been a long few months, you know, between here and running the food hall, and I’m super excited to get it opened up and let the people see what we’ve done.”
People will really see a big difference inside the restaurant after three months of renovation. There is seating for 30 people and Frank said a back room will be remodeled in the future for either excess seating or as a place for people to hold events like birthday parties or meetings.
“Over the years, I dreamed of having my own spot. This is ideal. I don’t want anything overwhelmingly big,” he said.
Frank indicated it’s taken a little longer to open than he anticipated due to getting the property rezoned and obtaining a CMB license to sell beer. But the couple was adamant about making it work due to the high demand at the food hall.
“It just blew up,” he said about the public’s response to his food.
Things were getting a bit cramped at the food hall, where Pig Phatz was located with several other restaurants. The new building will allow the business to have more space for food preparation and storage.
Frank’s interest in barbecue started in his youth.
“I grew up in Texas. Barbecue is big that way. I mean, I’ve always loved to eat barbecue,” he said with a chuckle.
In 2013, Frank moved to Idaho Springs, Colorado, for a few years to work at a resort which had a small barbecue place called Smoking Yards Barbecue. That’s where his hobby interest really took off. Frank worked as a fry cook and got a first-hand education in the business and in learning trimming, seasonings and the cooking process.
Frank has bought several different kinds of offset smokers and cookers and eventually had one custom-made.
“I had seven small offset smokers in my backyard, and I would put them in a circle, and each one had their own fire going. And I would just stay in my little happy place cooking,” he said. “I kept telling her I need a bigger cooker, and she’s like, “No.” Finally, she agreed to it. So, we had a really big offset a guy down in Texas built for us, and so that’s what we kind of went into the food hall with.”
But even with that offset cooker, it was getting hard to keep up with demand. The couple now has a Southern Pride rotisserie cooker that holds more food at one time and is more user-friendly, allowing Beth to learn how to run it.
The menu will largely remain the same, but Frank says they’ll change it up at times. One thing they will be adding is an appetizer menu as well as some healthier options like wraps and fruit to cater to the hospital crowd.
“We started a steak night at the food hall, and that went over really well, so we’ll continue doing that as well once we get going,” he said.
Pig Phatz hours of operation will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. or until they run out of food, Monday through Saturday. For Friday’s grand opening the business will open at noon.
“What we like to do is get feedback from the customers and kind of see what they say then tailor our hours to what the demand is,” Frank said.
Frank said they have gotten great feedback from hospital workers about their new location just across the street west of the hospital. In addition to carryout options, Pig Phatz is offering free delivery to the hospital.
“I feel it’s a little off the beaten path of Main Street, but I think being across from the hospital is going to be beneficial. And we’re going to offer free delivery in the downtown corridor, and then free delivery on orders over a certain amount. We’ll see how that goes,” he said.
Friday’s grand opening event will include a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting and Downtown Vision will be involved. A pastor will give the business a blessing as part of the ribbon cutting. Frank said there may be some kind of special during the day but he’s not sure about that yet. He anticipates the day is going to be busy.
“When we opened at the food hall, we sold the first day we were there a little over 200 pounds of meat in two hours,” he said. “So I don’t even know if we want to put a special out for the opening, other than it’s our grand opening, and maybe offer something – a free drink or whatever with food purchase kind of thing? I feel like we’re gonna be super busy.”
Some people may have noticed the Pig Phatz logo includes a dog with knife, fork and kerchief instead of a cow or pig that typically adorn bbq joints. Frank said the logo and the name is inspired by his 13-year-old white boxer whose nickname is Pig Phatz.
Frank said what’s important to him is to provide his customers with great food and a great experience.
“I want to put out a very high-quality product, you know, and I like to hear the people’s feedback when they like it. It makes me feel good,” he said.
Pig Phatz has a Facebook page. Search for Pig Phatz BBQ LLC.
