New blog......

Thanks Mike Causey (Skyscraper Media) for the new look to the blog......now if I would/could just start posting a little more often.

3yr Anni!

Cant believe 3yrs ago today we opened the Joint! what a night.......me/bo yelling at each other, dad washing dishes, mom apologizing to customers for the wait, then for us running out of food, Bryan Chandler busting tablesl, Eric Lamb doing whatever he was doing......it was a forgettable day, but one that I never want to forget! As many of you know Bo is no longer with us on a day/day basis...........but we're still tight........we met tonight at City House to have a few beers and think about where we've been and where we are.......its been a heck of a ride, and Martin's has a long ride to go...(trust me) .........but that being said.........I could never have built Martins without my friends and family helping me, BUT i could never have built Martin's without that asshole redneck rastafari Bo Collier.............wouldnt have happened! what a great friend he is to me.........foxhole!!!

Ain't Stalled no more!

Had a window yesterday/today of no rain......so the boys were able to get out there today and pour. this is the hardest part, everything derives from this so its a big deal......steel here tomorrow, they start framing on Monday. This is great, we're moving forward. some pics to follow. ill have a biz blog in the next day or so......

still stalled

rain has passed, should have a slab poured by the end of the week. even still it will be another two weeks before the steel gets here. have a job site review meeting tomorrow at 12:00. been designing the smoke stack for the pit furnace. wed. night i drove to Murphysboro, IL to spend some time with mike mills and his genius daughter amy tunnicliffe. been trying to get up there since late last year but something has always come up.....ice storm, inland hurricane, all kinds of stuff. very quick trip (only 3hr drive though) went up wed. came back thursday. we just hung out and had dinner.......also it was nice to see tommy houston (checkered pig) as well.....great guy! very nice operation they have going up there......and what tremendous people they are! they were getting set up for their competition this weekend and with amy in town from boston i decided to run up there and see em'. my buddy kirk duggan went with me and we worked on my books (quickbooks) while we drove. kirk has been helping get caught up on my books, ive gotten behind on reconciling my transactions on a daily basis and now feel like im behind Mt. Everest. i would drive and kirk would ask me what each transaction was for and what account it needed to be placed under. just data entry but dadgum it was very helpful - really made a lot of progress.
last week ended up pretty well, especially as rainy as it was. as you've read on here in the past the month of September is an enigma. i have learned that its an enigma for everyone, not just martins bbq. very tough to predict/anticipate. but as its done the past 3yrs the last week of september starts to heat up again and october is or at least has been strong relative to the season. added to the front of the house over the past couple of weeks......very encouraged by them! the back of the house is still trucking....stronger - and leaner - than ever. still avg under 10min ticket times on our peak service (saturday night), under 4min on weekday lunch (unless you order a burger). putting that second line in back in july was the best decision ive made since opening up, its just been like night/day. now the line to place your order is still and/or can be still pretty long, but once your order is placed you ain't there long. the new joint wont have that worry of waiting long to order, its set up to get you in and get you out if you so please......really looking forward to that kitchen!

Stalled

So I went out the other day to check on the site, to see if the footers had been poured for the slab yet. wasnt anyone around except an old man in a huge wooden boat. I went over and introduced myself to him. He told me his name was Noah and that he'd keep an eye out for any contractors and let me know but that in the mean time he was very busy loading two of every beast on to his boat. Actually he did look pretty busy so I told him I'd see him around. He told me that it was supposed to keep raining for a while, but that he would keep me posted as to when it might dry up a little - then we could see some guys out working concrete. He said he would release a dove, and that when it came back with a masonry trowel we'd be pretty close to getting back to work. he told me to hang in there.

The site

So i missed getting a pick of the actual breaking ground......but it wasnt nothin more than a track tearing the parking lot up. here is where it stands now.....they dug footings today, pouring 'crete on thursday. meeting with my construction manager & architect on thursday. ill take better pics in a day or two.......got a lot to blog/update on - A LOT! permits, equipment auctions, lease agreements, construction plans, rumor-mongering, nations toppled, orgys started, pills popped, mountains climbed......ohh just stay tuned.

Go eat at Jimmy Carl's Lunchbox!

You know whenever I get a chance I love eating at Nashville BBQ spots. Its not everytime but quite (if I've got some Martin's BBQ stuff on ) often I get the look like, "what are you doing here"......as if BBQ guys ain't supposed to go eat at other BBQ guys restaurants......like there is some unwritten rule.......I dont know, whatever......I really enjoy it and Nashville has some really good BBQ....so when I have time I support everyone I can! So here recently I got behind on my books a tad bit, and let me tell you that will compound in a hurry! So thursday i hunkered down in my office/shoebox at home and dove off into a big ole' pool of Quickbooks.......which let me tell you was riveting! Anyway......broke for lunch around 11:00 or so and went with my buddy Kirk Duggan down to Jimmy Carl's Lunchbox in the Gulch. Didnt get that look from these guys.......instead I got a "glad you are here what can I get you" look. Listen, flat out dang good BBQ! Those guys opened up for lunch in the legendary Station Inn....perfect spot. Had the pork sandwich, slaw, mac cheese salad, beans, ribs! Really great BBQ At any rate......go spend some freakin' money with these guys, the food is well worth it and they are trying really hard.......if you have followed this blog for very long you'll know that, uh, I can relate!!!

Dog Doo

A stray dog came around the Joint yesterday.....wouldnt come to you......real scared & skiddish. Went back in the Joint and grabbed the bills to head to the Post Office. When I came back out that poor little skiddish mutt was nowhere to be found, but his little skiddish ass was nice enough to leave a big pile of dog shit right on the sidewalk. thats how my day started yesterday.

3 blogs in 3 days?

yep.......if you are that shocked then maybe its a sign of the times, so maybe you need to "get your house in order" as the ol' C.O.C. preachers used to say.......anyway, headed to a restaurant auction before lunch @11:00. worked on back of the house checklists all day yesterday (holding those knuckleheads accountable) and was up till 12:30 last night working on other stuff for the Joint. hopefully the contractors will be back out there working on that pad today!

on a side note, the pic is a good pictorial description of what the Martin household is like every morning.

Brick & Rough cut lumber

Picked out brick the other day......really awesome, OLD weathered brick.......a lot of character! its about $30.00 (per thousand) more expensive than what we budgeted, but its worth it - plus we are saving quite a bit in other areas so it will all work out. the interior of the new Joint will look EXACTLY, like the current one......down to the interior roof, red trim, exposed HVAC, etc.......my father-in-law and i will be hauling Poplar to his sawmill to cut in the next week or so....the trees were blown down in the Tornado a few years back so they ought to be well seasoned.

Changes are a comin'

Broke ground on the new "Joint" this week........we are staying in Nolensville, we just need a larger kitchen and better facilities. Ill post plans/renderings/elevations soon for you to see.......one thing is very important though, we will NOT lose our atmosphere, as a matter of fact we'll be adding to it. Having a larger kitchen is going to be such a huge help. Our current kitchen is 330sq feet.....we've milked it for as much as it will give. The overall product will be much more consistent in a larger space, we'll have the equipment we need etc..
Also, having the blog re-designed in line with the new website.......and the new joint. the new Joint will make the blog informative again. new codes, draft beer, restaurant auctions, staff will double.......putting all the chips on the table one more time.........so follow along

More Snapshots......

1st pic of Big Apple BBQ Block Party

More pics/commentary to come.......the event surpassed even my best expectations, it was great! This is Friday night around 8:30, 24th & Madison Ave.

Interview with Pat on WNYC

Pat and Kenny Callaghan were guests on the Leonard Laporte show. Here is the interview.

Video of the new Rig

Hello everyone, Mike here, I will be helping Pat update the blog here. First update, here is a video of the new Whole Hog Rig to add to the pics in the last post. The rig is currently on it's way today to the Big Apple to do some serious Whole Hog cooking. The trip so far has been an adventure, with traffic and hailstorms but all is going well.

New Catering Trailer

Leaving for NYC in 8 hours at 4:00am with Robbie Lunday. Here we go........2009 Big Apple Block Party.

Trailer

Getting the trailer going for the hog-pit. Paint came in today, 1300 degree flat black. we'll put 3 coats on it. I now have a slight delta (change) in my plans..........thinking of going fwd with the 32ft gooseneck i was originally thinking about and just getting the whole dad-gum thing done now. Ill post tomorrow with the update.

New website is/should be up......its a great step....we'll make changes (deltas) as we go be Mike Causey is great! I'm about to touch base with my old friend Katie Walker, been missing her a lot.......she & John had a baby and I've been trying to leave her alone, but I saw on Facebook the other day that she was sharpening her pencils...........sounds like Katie "All-Star" Walker is coming out of hibernation

FINALLY.......

New website with new blog is here........launching it officially on Monday. Lots to catch you up on:

1) possible new building
2) invitation as one of the Pit-Masters to the infamous "Big Apple BBQ Block Party" in June
3) yet another timely, unplanned child on the way - my lovely wife being irresponsible once again with the birth control pills. september 7th due date. oh yeah and its a boy.......may God help us!
4) new whole hog trailer being built - its a monster!!!
5) update on business - the Martin's BBQ "pirate ship" is actually getting serious!?!?!
6) update on a new douche bag vendor
7) update on a new sloth/moron customer - this one is a good story! some folks are just unreal!
8) i am now going to be updating via "twitter" (short 2-3 sentence updates)......this will enable me to actually update my damn blog.......look, the big ass paragraphs were just getting too tough for me to do on a regular basis - i have severe adult ADD - what do you expect? what a terrible excuse.

Some recent articles about the Joint...

Southern Living - Tales from the Road





100 Southern Foods - Garden and Gun

Smokehouse

A look at the smokehouse

O.K. so here is the deal......

New website & blog and blog design is on the way. Hang in there with me! A lot to tell you about I just wanted to wait until the new blog rolls out to do it. It will be better than ever. A lot more pictures, video, audio.........and if you have A.D.D. as bad as "they" say I do then you'll appreciate that! The blog will be rejuvenated with fresh and more complex business posts. It will also incorporate more cooking as well -again, just to keep content fresh. Soon my good man, soon.