Little Miss BBQ: A Phoenix Barbecue Success Story
Great BBQ is a culinary treasure - hard to find, a unifier of people, and a teacher of business lessons. Little Miss BBQ in Phoenix has become a beacon of BBQ, drawing crowds willing to wait long periods for a taste of their brisket, short ribs, and smoked pecan pie. The restaurant rivals some of the best BBQ west of Texas.
From Competition to Culinary Beacon
The Little Miss BBQ team's journey began in the competitive BBQ circuit. Early failures paved the way for improvement. They sampled other competitors' offerings, becoming "obsessed trying this, that and everything in between to perfect our recipes.” This dedication to refinement and innovation has allowed them to stand out in a crowded culinary landscape.
The Importance of Time, Experience, and Effort
The creation of great BBQ takes time. The man behind the meat soaks the briskets every half hour with his special "spray” to keep them moist. He starts at 7 am and doesn’t take the meat off until midnight. This time-tested tradition is derived through a lot of trial and error. The Little Miss BBQ team began as a competitive outfit that went through numerous disastrous competitions before earning its initial success. Experience and effort can enhance the chances for developing a strong business. The Little Miss BBQ team turned early struggles into an improved product offering.
Lean Principles in Practice
Entrepreneurs strive to develop the "perfect" product before customer validation. The product tends to be riddled with unnecessary features. Solve a problem with a simple solution. Little Miss BBQ embodies lean principles. They validated their efforts at early competitions before opening the restaurant. The menu has a small handful of meats, sides, and one dessert - all expertly prepared and demanded by customers.
Innovation and Adaptation
Entrepreneurs cannot rest on their laurels after experiencing success. They assume that the product/service has been perfected and forget that customers’ tastes can change. Evolving market conditions and the Lean Startup "build-measure-learn" feedback loop should inspire reinvention. The food is tremendous, absolutely worth the lengthy wait…that ONE time. But chances are most people will not stand in line again unless there is something truly special about what you offer.
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Customer Service as a Cornerstone
The product gets people in the line, but it is the exemplary customer service that will keep them coming back. Little Miss BBQ has a parking attendant greeting people; another employee passing out water; the owner cutting the meat, conversing with customers, and passing out burnt ends as samples. Responsiveness and service will build brand loyalty in your clients’ minds. You can have a wonderful product, but you must also continue to delight the customer after the purchase.
The Power of Word-of-Mouth
HubSpot’s “cocktail party rule” of marketing emphasizes sharing valuable and interesting content 80% of the time and self-promotional advertising the remaining 20%. It is more effective to allow your customers to highlight your success than shouting to the world how wonderful your business is. Yelp reviews for Little Miss BBQ cite the great food and the customer service. These reviews converted people into Little Miss BBQ connoisseurs.
Expansion and Evolution
Little Miss BBQ opened a second Phoenix location in the Sunnyslope neighborhood. The new location nearly quadruples the indoor capacity of the south Phoenix location, housing roughly 150 diners. To handle the increased capacity and reduce wait times, the restaurant features three Oyler pits. For every week of operation, Holmes anticipates prepping, smoking and serving 3 tons of brisket.
The Quest for the Perfect Brisket
Holmes began the quest to find the best brisket he had tasted. After nearly a year of trying to locate his favorite product through his supplier, a distributor, an investment firm and a meatpacking plant that closed and left the trail cold, Holmes finally found the source: an independent ranch in Minnesota.
New Offerings at the Sunnyslope Location
The Sunnyslope location offers booze, breakfast, including breakfast burritos, avocado and barbecue egg bowls, biscuits and gravy, and biscuit sandwiches stuffed with barbecue. Holmes is adding a mac and cheese to the menu, along with vegetables that will be roasted in the juicy, fatty drippings from the smoked brisket. An order of brisket will include both fatty and lean. Daily specials like smoked pastrami and short ribs will be in attendance, and Holmes hopes to work in a green chile smoked meatloaf down the line, along with the smoked salmon he teased when the restaurant was first announced.
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Sweet and Sticky Pork Belly
Holmes has been developing recipes for his smoked salmon and sweet and sticky ribs. He decided to play with some pork belly, and his daughter loved it. And so, partly thanks to Holmes’ 6-year-old daughter, sweet and sticky pork belly it is, sizzled up to a crisp on the flat top in a caramelized, sweet barbecue sauce.
Real Estate Expansion
Little Miss BBQ purchased a freestanding retail building at 8901 N. 7th St. The retail building purchased for Little Miss BBQ served as a former Western Union bank location with excellent frontage on 7th Street. This new location will be an additional restaurant to the original Little Miss BBQ at 4301 E.
The Menu
Little Miss BBQ offers a variety of different barbecue dishes served with side dishes that they have perfected to be as enticing as the meats. On top of the meat and sides, Little Miss BBQ also has a popular dessert selection of their smoked pecan pie and banana pudding. The desserts are known for their balanced sweetness levels and are the perfect way to finish your meal.
The Founders
Little Miss BBQ is a creation of the husband and wife team, Scott and Bekke Holmes. Scott Holmes had a culinary-school education, but he left the restaurant industry when he tried the Salt Lick in Driftwood. He and Bekke entered several barbecue competitions. They decided Phoenix needed a Central Texas-style joint. First they had to convince reluctant city authorities to allow the use of offset smokers.
Recognition and Accolades
In 2014, Little Miss BBQ was one of the first joints outside Texas to go all in on the Texas craft barbecue model: smoke only the amount of meat you can do incredibly well, slice it fresh for each customer, and put up a Sold Out sign when it’s gone. Scott and Bekke Holmes continue to win our vote for the outstanding barbecue smoked at Little Miss BBQ. Little Miss BBQ’s sides and sweets are no slouches, either. We don’t skip the ranch-style beans that are studded with chunks of smoked meat or the creamy mac and cheese. And, whether you eat it there or take it home, Bekke’s personal-sized smoked pecan pie is an ideal sweet ending.
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A Taste of Little Miss BBQ Downtown
If you’re downtown on Roosevelt Row, you can find a taste of Little Miss at its new sibling concept, Full Speed Chicken and Ribs. The spot straddles fried chicken and barbecue staples, with the Holmeses’ outstanding St.
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