We have only been to Wayne's two or three times since they rebuilt after the Marshall Fire, Dec…read more 30th, 2021. Wayne's house burned completely down and the kitchen and restaurant in the shopping center in Superior, just south of Boulder, were severely damaged. It took them well over a year to rebuild and reopen. We decided this past Labor Day Weekend, to supply our own meals with their BBQ, sides and dessert. Since reopening, they have maintained a very short week to be open because of many time and financial constraints. They still open at 11am and serve until about 2pm or until the majority of the prepared food is gone. They also work all of the hours from before dawn every day to smoke and cook all of the meats, sides and desserts, fresh each day. The schedule is just to be open Friday and Saturday, leaving them some quality of family life the rest of the week.
In the very early years Wayne was there himself, doing almost all the smoking, cook prep, and lunch every day with a very small staff. That became unsustainable when the place built such a huge following and he hired a lot of staff that needed training. He had learned these recipes and techniques growing up near Austin TX, so this is classic Texas BBQ. In fact, the original form of the famous peach cobbler dessert was his own mother's recipe. It has been altered a little over the years to make serving in such volume better and this very latest version is the best yet. Every serving is the same balance of batter, peaches and cinnamon topping. It is generous and has wonderful flavor and texture and is served warm. At home we usually reheat it if we don't finish it all the first day. But it is still good cold, too.
If we drive so far and wait in line to get in, we always buy enough for a few meals. It's absolutely worth it. The higher price than the mass producers is worth very penny. It's really homemade with quality ingredients. In the past, I almost always got the brisket, always chose the lean end (yes you get a choice and the side is still warm from the cooker/smoker in front of you). All of the meats are purchased by weight as you would in a butcher shop. My husband almost always has the ribs. We were the first in on Saturday, as we arrived 30 minutes before opening and the line formed behind us with quite a group ready for the doors to open. Since we had first pick and when we saw the first rack of ribs opened, we just bought the whole thing.
We also bought a selections of sides and as I had not been here in so long, I bought way too much. We did not need the mashed potatoes so we only ate about 1/3 of it. But we ate absolutely everything else, the BBQ beans, the cole slaw, the green chile mac and cheese, the peach cobbler. We always get the original BBQ sauce that they make but there is also a house spicy and a house mustard. They do charge for the sauces these days and if you plan to use a lot, buy the bigger tub. But the meat is so flavorful, just one or 2 of the tiny size would be enough. They started making these tiny containers for each customer during the pandemic when they had to give up the communal bottles on the table and this system seems nice and fresh to me. I don't mind paying and they buy and hand fill these serving size cups which I appreciate. I have heard some other people do not. But it's very inexpensive.
We enjoyed every morsel of the meals. It's my favorite mac and cheese around, the ribs were still hot, tender, crispy, and with buying the whole rack, we got the entirety of both burnt ends, which I love too.
It's really worth the effort to do this, but once a summer is probably our limit. I plan not to miss any more years, though. They do still have tables inside which are used heavily during a normal work week for the crowds they get from nearby businesses. But honestly, I think most of their customers are there to take home a full shopping bag to serve at home for family and friends, for no stress events without cooking yourself.
