Bill's Bar-B-Que is back.
For more than 15 years, Alfred Lee and his family served barbecue to the people of Elkhart. As other places came and went, Bill's, with its tangy and spicy sauce and meat smoked over hardwood, made people happy and became the standard for Elkhart barbecue.
His family business closed in early 2005, but reopened Aug. 31 at 1592 W. Franklin Ave., Elkhart.
The former truck driver and Elkhart Housing Authority employee started selling barbecue out of a trailer in 1986 and bought a corner property at Franklin Street and Indiana Avenue in 1988.
From a building about 30 feet long and 10 feet wide, the Lees operated their business. Alfred and Will, his son for whom the business was originally named, opened another location on Cassopolis Street a few years back and eventually the family closed that location in 2004 and the original location in 2005.
"It got to be kind of a drag," Alfred said.
They had financial problems and another business venture to build barbecue trailers fizzled.
Over the years, barbecue came and went in Elkhart.
"Barbecue's been going and coming for a while," Alfred said last week in his clean restaurant kitchen. And he went and came back.
Four family members are helping him carry out the craft of smoking meat that he learned from his father. The smoker at the end of the small building uses hickory, oak, cherry and apple woods to infuse the meat during its four hours or so of cooking. The meat can go in a warmer until it's sold, but the process they use at Bill's doesn't wash the smoke flavor out of the meat.
At one time, Bill's had a spicy sauce in addition to the traditional barbecue sauce he made with a base of Open Pit, but he ditched the spicy version in favor of one sauce and a bottle of cayenne pepper to add heat to the mix when customers want it.
A session with the Bill's barbecue already raises a sweat on my face. "I want a little bit of heat on it," Alfred said.
I'm in full agreement and love his sauce. It's not as sweet as those made with Sweet Baby Ray's and it's one of my favorites anywhere. (I do have a chocolate tequila barbecue sauce in my refrigerator from Totally Cooked BBQ Co. in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, but I haven't had a chance to eat much of it yet.)
The chicken halves, rib tips and ribs aren't always as tender as other barbecue joints, but it can be both moist and flavorful without falling off the bone.
"We get it down pretty pat. We're not there yet, but we're getting there," Alfred said of his work with family members.
The fans are showing up en masse. About 200 stopped by in the weeks prior to opening as he worked on the building. In the past couple weeks, I've witnessed men awaiting their order with goofy, boyish smiles as if they are 7-year-olds awaiting a birthday present, but in this case they already knew what it was and how much they enjoyed it. Word has traveled fast that Bill's has reopened. (Thanks to reader Jack Doke for tipping me off.)
Alfred is glad to be back at work, but doesn't plan to put in the long days he used to. He's still recovering from chemotherapy he got to fight a form of leukemia and finds out this week whether more treatment is needed. But he said he feels good.
And because he's back doing what he's good at, he's making a lot of other people feel good too.
I witnessed a friend on the verge of tears because she was so happy to taste this barbecue again.
A co-worker leaned into my car one day last week just to, as he said, "get a snoutful" of the aroma.
An 80-year-old customer bought a slab of ribs and he and Alfred talked about how it may last three days. A neighbor told Alfred the old guy ate nearly all the ribs in a day.
Alfred is trying to hold prices close to what they were in the past.
The value on what he sells is good, with dinners of $6.95 to $11.95 and sandwiches at $4.40. A pound of rib tips is a good deal at $7.75. There's also a daily lunch special with fries and a drink for $5.99.
Bill's sells fried perch and catfish, but I stick to the barbecue and get extra sauce on the fries.
I'm thrilled that Bill's is back, raising the number of barbecue joints in Elkhart to at least three. The taste is the same as that day in the 1990s when I created a memory by getting it with my father after going to a Notre Dame game and eating it at my kitchen table with him.
Bill's probably isn't the best barbecue in the world, but it's ours.
And it's mighty good.
QUICK BITES
* The 11th annual Michiana Chili Cook-Off is from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 11) at Mishawaka's Heritage Square Shopping Plaza. Sixteen professional and student chefs will compete for awards, including one picked by those who pay $5 each ($2 for children under 10) to taste the entries, according to a press release. The American Culinary Federation's South Bend chapter, along with Martin's Super Markets, is sponsoring the event. A portion of the proceeds will go to Northern Indiana Food Bank.
* Church Community Services is having lunch and supper Saturday at Trinity United Methodist Church, 2715 E. Jackson Blvd., Elkhart, to raise money. Soup, salad and dessert will be served from 11 to 2 and 5 to 7. Admission is a donation in the form of food, personal care items or money. Soup of Success items will be on sale, according to a press release.
* Dairy Queen's Blizzard of the Month for October is Pumpkin Pie. You can get one if you want, but I'll be getting the pumpkin ice cream from Flavor Freeze in Elkhart or Dunlap.
* Charlie Lamb will be cooking barbecue for a bash Saturday night at Bulldog Restaurant & Lounge, 3763 E. Jackson, Elkhart. Lamb's uncle Bill owns the place. Charlie will be cooking ribs, brisket and pork shoulder, with baked beans and other side dishes. Catman and the All Nighters will be providing the blues.
* The second annual Local Foods Feast of Blue Heron Farm will be at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at Pizzeria Venturi, 145 N. Morton St., Shipshewana. A four-course meal will be $36 per person. Farmer Tom Stinson and Chef Justin Venturi will host the event. To make a reservation, call (260) 768-4088 or sign up at the farm's booth at the Goshen Farmers Market.
* Ben Hartman and Rachel Hershberger, other farmers at the Goshen market, are offering shares in a Community Supported Agriculture program, the only true CSA I know of in Elkhart County where they deliver food to your residence throughout a season. Plans range from $270 to $970 for next year, but there's also a 12-week late-season share from now until December for $300, including delivery. The deadline for sign-up is Oct. 15. Their products are also sold at the farmers market. For more information, call or e-mail Clay Bottom Farm at (574) 642-4123 or claybottomfarm@hotmail.com.
IF YOU GO
What: Bill's Bar-B-Que
Where: 1592 W. Franklin St., Elkhart
Fare: Barbecue and fried fish
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday
Details: Carry-out only; credit cards accepted; small ordering area; call ahead for large orders.
Phone: 295-8040