What started as a hole-in-the-wall in Illinois is now a burgeoning franchise and the newest business in Tipp City.
Thirteen years ago, Brad and Krista Bowman were both working on a cruise ship and wanted to move back home to Illinois to be with family and go to school. When they came to Urbana, Krista realized there was a serious lack of barbecue.
"There were plenty of steakhouses, but no barbecue," she laments.
Since Krista had grown up in Texas, this was a true tragedy. With both Bowmans having experience in the restaurant and service industry, they decided to open their own. They took over an old pizza place, dressed it up 'John Wayne style', and opened Longhorn Smokehouse.
"We just had an idea and a passion for the barbecue," Krista describes.
They dry rub the meat in a special blend of seasonings, slow cook it over hickory wood (it adds the smoked flavor), and serve barbecue sauce on the side.
(Continued from Page 1A)
All their sides are made from scratch using old family recipes.
On the first day the Bowmans opened, there were lines out the door. With hardly any advertising, all the food was sold out by 2 p.m. And customers kept coming back.
"We loved the food and realized everybody else loved the food - we knew we had a franchise," Krista states, "It's the smoked meat and the sauce - it's not just a quarter pound sandwich."
So in 2001, the Hickory River Smokehouse was born. There is now one in Bloomington and Springfield, aside from the original in Urbana, and talk of one opening in Indiana.
The Bowmans decided to move to this area to be closer to family (Krista was born in Kettering). The original plan was to retire for a year, and then the former Fat Daddy's went up for sale.
"There went our retirement," she laughs.
Lisa Graham of Tipp City, their friend and manager, thought this day might never come.
"I thought it was a pipe dream," she shares, "We talked about it for years and were just waiting for the opportunity."
Opportunities don't always come easily. The Bowmans had to gut the building on Garber to the shell, digging trenches and replacing plumbing. Now murals and western regalia adorn the walls, and they even have a special sign Budweiser made for them hanging in the front door - it reads Budweiser-n-Barbecue.
The menu includes beef brisket - the house specialty hands-down - pork loin, baby back ribs, country ham, turkey and polish sausage. Sides range from ranch beans to macaroni and cheese to Krista's favorite, potato salad.
With all that, Hickory River is now ready and open for business
"We did a whole life change - it was a risk," shares Krista, "But it's just going to be awesome."
The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week and also offers catering. For more information, call 669-BBQ1.
"Ads published on this site are not for republication in print or web
media without the expressed written consent of both the advertiser and
The Brown Publishing Company."
