Ken鈥檚 BBQ chef/co-owner Robert Lott says the restaurant鈥檚 goal is to serve authentic Texas-style barbecue.
Update: Ken's BBQ is now open
There鈥檚 a big smoker sitting out front of Charles Kendrick鈥檚 Afro-American Heritage Museum on South Park Avenue and the rich fragrance of smoked meats once again perfumes the air.
For the first time since Mr. K鈥檚 Barbecue closed shop in 2012, the small space at 1830 S. Park Ave. with a half-dozen tables and counter service is focusing on barbecue.
鈥淲e鈥檙e bringing back Southern style barbecue that鈥檚 been missing in Tucson,鈥 Kendrick said Wednesday morning, as his partner and top chef Robert Lott chopped freshly smoked pork on a wooden cutting board in the kitchen.
Ken鈥檚 BBQ officially opens on Tuesday, May 2, but Kendrick, Lott and partner Arthur Platt have been quietly serving barbecue to anyone who comes in the door for the past handful of days.
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The restaurant鈥檚 menu is centered on Texas-style mesquite-smoked beef, pork and chicken, with a handful of housemade Southern sides, including macaroni and cheese, candied yams and ranch beans. There鈥檚 also fried fish and fried chicken.
Lott, who has cooked in chain restaurants in Nebraska and at his grandmother鈥檚 restaurant in Shreveport, Louisiana, said he plans to introduce more Southern fare as they go along.
Prices run $7.25 for sandwiches, with dinner entrees starting at $11.75. For a limited time, they are offering a trio of sliders for $4.99.
Ken鈥檚 BBQ is the first restaurant to occupy the corner space since the short-lived J and K Heritage Museum Cafe opened and closed in summer 2015. The space also was home to Ol茅 Rico Mexican Steakhouse, which lasted a few months from late 2014 to early 2015; and a Caribbean restaurant made a short run in early 2013.
Kendrick opened Mr. K鈥檚 Barbecue in 1998. His son Ray ran the restaurant for nearly a decade until he renamed it the Original Mr. K鈥檚 BBQ and moved in summer 2012 further south to 6302 S. Park Ave.
A year earlier, the senior Kendrick opened a much-larger version of Mr. K鈥檚 in a former Chili鈥檚 restaurant on North Stone Avenue and East River Road near the Tucson Mall. The restaurant was open two years before closing in fall 2013.
Kendrick said he is confident Ken鈥檚 BBQ will do well, a sentiment echoed by Lott and Platt. Lott said the restaurant鈥檚 goal is to present authentic Texas-style barbecue 鈥 characterized by a more tomato-leaning sauce and wood smoking 鈥 and ensure that every diner leaves full.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like going to a family barbecue,鈥 Kendrick, 85, said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to give people what they want.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 very confident in us as a team,鈥 Lott added. 鈥淚 believe this is something that Tucson is really going to go for.鈥
