Inside an average-looking downtown office building, Big C’s Smoked Barbeque is serving up Southern-style flavor.
When patrons walk through the door of Big C’s Smoked Barbeque, they are greeted by owner Charles Collins’ smiling face in the open kitchen. Collins is living his dream. The eighth of 10 children, he thrived in a family who loves cooking and loves fun, he says.
These days, he still sticks to the basics he learned from his mother while growing up in Mississippi.
Collins began grilling in his teens but discovered “real barbeque” while in the Army during the ‘80s. He saw a man in Georgia using real wood to smoke the meat, which fueled the passion that led him to open up his own barbeque catering service 10 years ago.
“When you say grill, grill is just what it is … You’ve got that hot, intense heat. You can Google barbeque and I bet somewhere in there, it says ‘cooked low and slow.’ That’s barbeque to me,” Collins said.
Before opening the restaurant on Michigan Avenue three years ago, Collins got his start on the street corner with his signature log cabin trailer. It’s a mobile, fully-equipped kitchen on wheels complete with a smoker.
When it comes to catering with his cabin, his wife is his “wingman,” he said. His son and daughter, now in their early 20s, help out occasionally as well. “You can hire me, but if she’s not coming, I’m not coming. I’m a family man. I like having my family around,” Collins said.
Inside the cozy restaurant or alongside his smoker in a parking lot, Collins stays true to his family’s Southern roots.
“When we first started offering pulled pork with the coleslaw on it, people looked at us like we were crazy, but that’s how we do it down South,” he said.
After a little while, word of mouth worked in his favor and his customers promoted “get it with the coleslaw on it” to others. The rest is history, he says.
Big C’s started catering graduation parties, weddings and other events after the mobile set up helped get their
name out.
Despite the success of his catering business, Collins said opening the restaurant was harder than he anticipated.
“Out there, people can see and taste your product. The product sold itself. When I got here, I was counting on the same thing, but it didn’t happen like that. It took time,” he said.
Beyond his signature pulled pork, ribs and beef brisket, the restaurant also serves breakfast all day, deli sandwiches and a myriad of sides, like tater tots and baked beans.
These days Collins and his crew are too busy to get back to the corner much, but he says he’s enjoying where things are going.
“I have good days and I have bad days, but I really like doing what I’m doing,” he said.
Big C’s Smoked Barbeque, 316 N. Michigan Ave.,
(Across from the downtown library.)
Open Tuesday through Friday 11am to 5pm.
419-243-1100. www.bigcsbbq.com
