B-B-Q Shack fires up grill in Riverfront Park

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Nestled into a corner of Riverfront Park is a tasty new takeout eatery hoping to find its niche in a busy food-service market.
    The B-B-Q Shack, owned and operated by Tammy and Billy Tompkins of Houlton, officially opened for business in early July and has seen a slow, but steadily improving base of customers. Tammy Tompkins said her reasoning for opening a barbecue eatery was simple.
    “I wasn’t able to find a job, so I thought ‘Why not create one?’,” Tammy said. “There’s plenty of places to get fried food, but there are not that many barbecue places around town. We do all of our barbecuing on an outdoor grill.”
    The Tompkins cook all of their offerings on a double-sized, charcoal grill, which gives it a more distinct flavor, compared to propane grills, Tammy said.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
OPEN FOR BUSINESS — Tammy Tompkins, owner of the B-B-Q Shack, has opened her eatery at Riverfront Park in Houlton.
    The B-B-Q Shack’s specialties are ribs and pulled pork sandwiches, but they also cook hamburgers, hot dogs and Italian sausage (both spicy and sweet) to order. Thanks to a small deep fryer, French fries, onion rings and doughboys are available. Platter specials also include coleslaw and a beverage.
    “Our pulled pork takes eight hours on the grill at 250 degrees,” Tammy said. “It gives you a totally different flavor from gas. It’s more of a country taste.”
    To help fund her new barbecue business, Tompkins said she sold fiddleheads to several local grocery stores this past spring. She estimated she delivered 2,500 pounds of the ferns this year.
    Tompkins said when she saw the town of Houlton was looking for someone to lease a spot a Riverfront Park, she knew it would be the perfect location for her business. She had to submit a proposal to the Houlton Town Council to lease the town-owned parcel of land.
    “I put a bid in and they [the council] accepted it, so then I really had to get it done,” she said.
    The Tompkins bid $350 per year to lease the spot. They were the only individuals to submit a proposal to the town. Their lease is good for three years.
    Town Manager Doug Hazlett said the council has been looking for someone to open an eatery in Riverfront Park for three years, but before the Tompkins, no one ever responded.
    The Tompkins converted a small camper for their barbecue business, complete with a deck area. Tammy also makes her own homemade barbecue sauce.
    “It’s sweet, but has a little bit of zip to it,” she said.
    The B-B-Q Shack is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday until Nov. 1.