New joint in town, Suburban MN

[Swapspit]

I've lurked here for years now. In fact , everything I know I learned right here on The Smoke Ring. Finally opened a brick and mortar spot and we're trying hard to live the dream. Like the song goes, "its hard out here for a pimp".
We started off catering and doing cook-offs some 8 odd years ago. in 2012 I lost my longtime job, i cashed out my 401k and bought a food truck in the middle of a local food truck boom. We had the truck and did it full time for the first summer but when winter hit I had to man up and get a new full time job. So i worked full time and ran the truck on the weekends for another year. In 2014 we decided to sell the truck and take some time off to regroup. For the last 2 years my wife worked diligently on starting a retail brand to sell our sauces and jams.
Earlier this year we finally got the sauce into a few shops, when out of the blue I get an email from my cousin about a lead on a possible store front space that had been a greasy spoon for something like 45 years. I didnt think in a million years we could afford to buy a restaurant at this point in time. I was wrong. However to get access to the down payment I had to quit my job and cash out yet another retirement account. So I quit my job and my wife quit hers. We dove in head first and after countless man hours of cleaning and remodeling we opened our doors on Oct.21 2016. Been open about a month now, and we're starting to get our feet.
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Cory
Owner and pitmaster
Jellybean and Julia's BBQ

[brutus1964]

Welcome to the Smoke Ring and good luck with your new venture.
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Chargriller
Weber Kettle
Heartland Cookers 36 x 48 Rotisserie

"If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got"- Henry Ford

[Kevan]

Good for you! Great to follow your passion. The best of luck to you and your wife. Please keep us updated.

[Capt Jack]

Congrats on your new venture. Satisfying is an understatement when you see total strangers come in and enjoy something you made.

I too read this forum and learned a lot from posters. Also, I recommend the management tools available at restaurantowner.com. Info there is nearly priceless.

One more tidbit. If you are not using Facebook paid advertising and need more footsteps in the door, start using Facebook paid post boosts for a business Facebook page. I spend $10 per day boosting my Facebook post. It brings in customers everyday! New ones and regulars. Best advertising money ever spent.

One big congrats to you. You have a great story Swapspit

[YardFullOfOak]

Best of luck!

Please keep us posted on your progress. You can get a lot of help here, and the more you share, the more help you get.

[qfanatic01]

Welcome to the Jungle, there's plenty of room! We just celebrated 10 years a couple of weeks ago. I hope you can too.
You can pretty much learn everything you need to know about great BBQ online but you have to experience it to create it. Best Wishes.
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The lessons are in the customer's criticism. They aren't always right. The rewards are their satisfaction.

[Swapspit]

Been living the dream, making bbq for the hungry masses. We celebrate 3 whole years at the end of October!
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Cory
Owner and pitmaster
Jellybean and Julia's BBQ