November 26, 2024 • 24 mins
AJ Baird and Chef Rob Nelson share stories of the opening of Brother's Meethouse—a place for community, good food and live music.
AJ takes us through his culinary evolution from fast-food to the dynamic world of Good Gravy Group and Chef Rob reflects on the success of Tusk and Trotter, and how its growth opened the doors for a broader hospitality adventure. Together, they share the challenges and joys as they build new dining experiences and craft a barbecue restaurant that's delicious and memorable with live music and the famous, mechanical hog (Pork Chop).
Discover their unique twice-cooked meats with flavors that are as rich as the Ozarks, and explore mouthwatering sides and desserts. Join us in celebrating a culinary journey that redefines Arkansas Barbecue.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Beth Bobbitt (00:10):
Welcome to A New American Town presented by Visit
Bentonville.
I'm your host, beth Bobbitt,broadcasting from Haxton Road
Studio, and today we're excitedto speak with AJ Baird,
president of Good Gravy Group,and Chef Rob Nelson, culinary
director, about their newestrestaurant, brothers Meat House.
Welcome, thank you both forbeing here.
AJ Baird (00:30):
Thanks for having us, Beth.
Yeah, thank you.
Beth Bobbitt (00:33):
Yeah, so first of all, probably a trigger warning
for listeners.
We will be talking about food,so if you're hungry, just know
that going into it.
So let's start with a littlebit about each of your stories.
Aj, how did you get involvedwith Good Gravy Group and
hospitality in general?
AJ Baird (00:53):
Yeah, I started.
I caught the bug early.
I started at Sonic when I wasgosh 15, 14.
Can I say 14?
It was a long time ago.
Beth Bobbitt (01:03):
Labor laws.
AJ Baird (01:04):
Yeah, labor laws.
I think the statute oflimitations on long time ago
Labor laws yeah, labor, I thinkthat.
I think the statute oflimitations on that is over.
Beth Bobbitt (01:08):
So we're good there.
AJ Baird (01:09):
Oh, I won't say where .
And so started 14, making hotdogs and caught the bug when I
was, when I turned 15, I wasdoing things in the kitchen that
back then you could do.
I could work the grill, I couldwork the fryer, and I was
opening and closing the building, doing a lot of things and just
(01:29):
really enjoyed it.
Worked at Sonic for two yearsbefore I went to college and,
you know, never really thought Iwas going to be in the
restaurant business.
And then, out of college, I wasat a wedding and one of my, one
of my good friends said hey, we, we opened a restaurant in our
hometown.
(01:50):
You want to come work there?
And I was, uh, I was a securityguard at a casino.
It's like, yeah, it sounds muchbetter than this.
And so it was McAllister's Deliin 19,.
What was that 1998.
What was that 1998?
(02:14):
And so, and fast forward, 25years, I was with the brand uh
for 25, uh, 25 years and wentthrough, uh, started as an
assistant manager, dideverything and uh, the, the
running joke at the company wasI was, I was like an old pin you
couldn't lose.
And uh, cause I was, just, Iwas, I was around.
And so we, uh, throughacquisitions and, and this and
that, and the way business flows, uh, the my last, uh, I left in
(02:37):
2020, 23.
Um, but, uh, we had, um 135restaurants in 11 States and I,
I exited the company, we sold itand I exited a year later and,
uh, it was.
It was a wild ride and what Irealized through this whole
restaurant odyssey was I enjoyedum people and I get my energy
(03:02):
from people and then I alsoenjoy making, uh, making people
happy through the hospitality offood.
And, uh, you know, I met I metApril a year and a half ago, uh,
just through a mutual friend.
Um, you know, my dad said hey,uh, you don't have a job anymore
.
You probably need a job.
I want to introduce you tosomebody, and it was a mutual
(03:25):
friend of April's and it's kindof how the good gravy thing
started.
We, we, we were talking and Iwas like you know what I've
never, I haven't never done fullservice?
Mcallister's is is quick serveand you know the one, the one
thing that I never got a chanceto do it professionally was
explore culinary, cause we, wehad a set menu.
We had to do it professionallywas explore culinary because we,
we had a set menu.
(03:45):
We had to do what mcalcer'scorporate said we had to do and
we were very successful at itand the the opportunity with
good gravy felt it felt right.
Uh, I love, I love barbecue.
I'm an amateur, uh, unlike robwho's a professional, um and uh.
So when I heard about brothersand Brothers and then I'd been
(04:07):
to Tuscan Trotter and lovedTuscan Trotter still do, and
yeah, so we kind of we dated alittle bit and then I joined in
April and I did it's April inApril, but yeah, and so here I
am, my my parents live inFayetteville, my brother lives
in in Bentonville, so I havesome connection there, family
(04:30):
wise, and and it was a, it'sbeen a wild ride so far.
I mean, we've opened threerestaurants and since April well
, since, since May, so it's it'sfun.
Beth Bobbitt (04:41):
That is a bizarre.
I mean just to think aboutthree in like a year.
That's crazy fast yeah, and Ilove the growth.
AJ Baird (04:51):
I love the growth.
That's what's so much fun.
And at a certain level, when wehad so many restaurants in my
previous life, I lost the get upand go for growing restaurants
because it became moreaccounting function for me, and
so I started over again.
Beth Bobbitt (05:11):
Yay me I don't know if I'm crazy or not, but
here we are.
Yeah, it sounds like there'ssome ground floor and autonomy.
You know that would beappealing after such commitment
for so long.
And so, rob, many of our locallisteners will likely know you
if they're paying attention tothe culinary movement here and,
(05:34):
of course, associate you withTuscan Trotter.
Talk a little bit about thebackground of how that
experience with Tuscan Trotterkind of translated into this
hospitality group which hasclearly grown.
Chef Rob Nelson (05:49):
Yeah, so yeah.
Tuscan Trotter it started in2011.
That's our flagship restaurant,and started it with a small
group of business partners andour ownership team, and it just
took off like wildfire and uh,we all just uh decided that we
actually love what we're doing,we're really good at what we do,
(06:11):
so why not uh venture out andsee you know how the restaurant
group thing will work?
And uh, from tuscan trotter itwent on to uh, the second one
was butcher and pint, and thenTrash Ice Cream followed suit
right after that.
Beth Bobbitt (06:26):
Thank you for that .
Yeah, well, you're welcome.
Chef Rob Nelson (06:31):
So after Trash Ice Cream we opened up High
South Catering.
It is our catering arm and itjust kind of grew from there.
And then we're testing thewaters out with a restaurant
management not actually owning arestaurant.
So down in Fayetteville onDickson Street is the Leroy,
which is a sporting lounge.
(06:52):
We manage and operate it.
And then we opened up thesecond Tusk and Trotter Rogers.
In downtown Rogers we have amountain biking bar called the
Bend.
It's in North Bentonville rightoff the Arkansas greenway, and
uh yeah, so I mean and then, uh,just two weeks ago, opened up
(07:12):
our first barbecue jointbrothers meat house.
Beth Bobbitt (07:15):
And you look so awake and alert.
It's just um, it's just amazing.
I mean what you know, you'reable to keep up with the so
what's really cool is our youknow our ownership group.
Chef Rob Nelson (07:28):
They all have a talent that they bring to the
table.
You know, I have culinary onlockdown.
We've got AJ, who's a stud atoperations, and then you got
April who does everythingmarketing, and I mean we even
got a social media team.
We got our own accounting firm.
I mean we're actually becominglegit, a well-oiled machine.
It's really cool, yeah, in thepast few years of really hitting
(07:50):
the ground, running and growingthe business and growing the
brand, and you know it's been afun wild ride so far.
Beth Bobbitt (07:56):
Yeah, really fast ride Right, right.
Well, and let's talk aboutBrothers Meat House.
So this is the new barbecuehotspot.
For those of you that haven'theard, it's on Fifth Street in
Bentonville, but it is so muchmore than a barbecue joint.
So can you talk a little bitabout the concept, maybe the
(08:21):
significance of the?
AJ Baird (08:22):
name little punny thing going there.
Yeah, you want to take?
Chef Rob Nelson (08:24):
that one.
Yeah, absolutely, yeah in there.
Uh, yeah, yeah, you want totake that one.
Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
So so the brothers was actuallyconceived well before I arrived,
the five years in the makingfive, yeah, five years in the
making, absolutely, and it, itwas really around, uh, you know,
a backyard barbecue and howdoes you know how, how barbecue
(08:46):
and how grilling and how thatwhole experience brings people
together, right?
And so the backyard barbecue is, uh, you know, very American
and it's very, uh, community, uhoriented.
And so the the this whole thingwas hey, how do we, how do we
(09:07):
bring people together?
How do you, um, you know, howdo you do that without, without
it being, uh, something thatsomebody else has done before?
And so you know, look, wefollow a lot of, a lot of great,
you know, barbecue restaurants,you know regionally.
And then you have Wright's, whodoes a great job, right, and
(09:30):
they beat us to the market.
Wright's has been open what?
Four years now.
I guess Four or five.
They opened in 2020, if I'm notmistaken and do a great job.
Love Wright's.
And so a little take on whatBrothers is doing, and what we
wanna do is is we want to create, uh, it's a, it's a sit-down
(09:51):
restaurant.
You have a, you have a uhservice staff, we have a great
bar.
It's about 30 feet long, um,and tvs and everything that
you'd want to to have a.
Have a nice, have a nice time.
You know rights and a lot ofthese, a lot of the other
barbecue guys and gals out thereare doing the, the counter
service and then, um, you go,you can go eat in the picnic
(10:12):
tables, you can just take itwith you.
And so we wanted to.
We wanted to blend that withwith outstanding food and then a
place to meet.
Hence the pun.
And so the so we have.
We have a very comfortableatmosphere and and really we,
you know, when you open arestaurant, number one, you go
(10:33):
god, is anybody going to evershow up, right?
Um, you know, when I, when weopen the doors, uh, you know,
and I've opened a bunch ofrestaurants and that same, that
same fear gets you.
It's like, oh, is anybody goingto come?
Did I make a mistake?
What is going on?
Um, and, yes, people will comeand they have.
We've been really busy, firsttwo weeks and then, secondly, is
(10:56):
what, organically and how is itgoing to grow?
And really, the families arecoming out in droves.
We've got a nice place to hangout outside and and it's, it's
been really interesting to watchjust the natural mix of people
and patrons.
And it's been awesome and look,we have some challenges, the
(11:19):
contrast from McAllister's andhaving a set menu to.
We created the menu, we createdthe processes and procedures,
we built the kitchen, we builteverything and so we're still
making it happen everything.
And so, uh, you know, we'rewe're, we're still making it
happen.
And, uh, you know, and Rob'sdone a great job with the menu
and and sprinkling his egg,sprinkling in his expertise and
(11:40):
using a lot, a lot, a lot oflocal flavors.
Um, you know, and I'll let Robspeak to that, but I tell you,
we use sorghum, uh, in ourbarbecue sauce and I just it
just makes it all the differencemakes it true Arkansas yeah
AJ Baird (11:54):
yeah, so that's kind of what we're trying to define.
You know, arkansas is usually aflyover zone when it comes to
food in general, but you knowwe're in a spot to where we have
Kansas City to the north, yougot Memphis to the east, you got
Texas down south a lot of greatbarbecue you know.
So what is Arkansas barbecue?
So it's an ever evolving thing.
Is what we're saying?
(12:14):
We're in the infancy of itright now.
What aj just said we're using alot of local ingredients to
kind of tell the story, usinglocal product when we can.
And uh, also, what's known inthe ozark region, uh, it's
called twice cooking, so it'swhere you smoke and then you
finish over coals.
So, uh, we've had the privilegeof being able to partner up
with kingsford charcoal andthey're fueling, uh brothers for
(12:39):
us.
So everything goes out on thesmoker.
Then we'll bring it back inlike our chicken, we'll finish
it back over kingsford charcoal.
So there's your twice cook onit.
But that was, uh, back beforepre-refrigeration days, you know
.
So you would smoke all yourmeat, so you would have it
through the winter.
And then when you were bringingit back up to eat, you would
warm it back up over coals.
So it's kind of a nod to youknow generations of Ozark-style
(13:01):
cooking that we're bringing toBrothers.
And also using, like AJ said,the sorghum syrups, the local
honeys and different things thatyou find in the state to kind
of tell the story of.
Beth Bobbitt (13:10):
Arkansas Barbecue.
That's beautiful.
I love the history and theculture that's so embedded in
what you do, naturally, and Iwonder if you could talk a
little bit about the menuspecifically, and before you do
that, I'd love to hear just howdifferent it's been for you, you
know as a chef, that bouncingaround to different places, and
(13:38):
well I mean.
AJ Baird (13:38):
One cool thing about the group is all of our concepts
are different from the next one, so it does.
It's never boring yeah you know.
So that's one thing that I justlove.
And, uh, I caught the smokingbug about eight years ago, got
hot and heavy in it, where I'vebeen researching it for the past
five years just, you know,hardcore because I wanted to be
taken seriously.
Within barbecue Barbecuecommunity is a very tight knit
group.
It could be very, you know,standoffish at times, you know,
(14:01):
but I didn't want to be lookedat as that classically trained
French chef.
Oh now he's opening up abarbecue joint.
What?
Chef Rob Nelson (14:07):
does he?
AJ Baird (14:07):
know, you know.
So I got in the back pocket ofsome of the best pit masters in
the United States and went totheir place and learned from
them.
You know, what you know drivesthem and why do they love their
barbecue so much?
Hitting different regions ofthe of the south, you know, and
then took all that informationthat I gathered to try to build,
you know, a story of our own.
(14:34):
Love the research and tell us alittle bit about some of your
signature items, some favorites,yeah, so the twice cooked
chicken is a really good one.
Arkansas is also known forturkey, so we have a really
great turkey dish that we do,and then we'd like to be as
sustainable as possible.
So there's one cool dish that'scalled the OZQ and it's
basically a patty of ourleftover brisket from the night,
(14:56):
our leftover ribs.
We'll take it, take it off thebone, we'll chop it up and form
it into this cool little patty.
It's kind of like a play on acrab cake, basically kind of
like a hillbilly cake.
Beth Bobbitt (15:06):
Yeah.
AJ Baird (15:06):
And it's just all of our meats, so we didn't, you
know, have to waste anything.
And, uh, we pair that withcoleslaw.
And then this uh, nice chipotle, uh barbecue sauce, uh mustard
barbecue sauce base, and it'sfantastic wow uh, then we also
have a play on a Brunswick stewwe call it the Pea Ridge stew
and uh, leftover, you know,meats and stuff go into that.
(15:26):
So we're constantly trying to,you know, be thoughtful about,
you know how to utilize all theingredients and not just wasting
yeah.
So, those are some of myfavorite ones that we do right
now.
Beth Bobbitt (15:36):
And of course.
AJ Baird (15:37):
I love ribs.
Ribs is my favorite thing inthe world.
We do a pretty pretty goodspare rib.
So you need to come try the StLouis ribs out for sure.
Beth Bobbitt (15:44):
Sounds amazing.
I warned you all.
What about the, as we say inArkansas?
What about the fixings?
AJ Baird (15:50):
Oh yeah, the fixings are all from scratch also.
I mean double-deck potato salad, our pit beans we smoke for
four and a half hours out in thepit, and it also gets brisket
added to it.
And then we also have mac andcheese.
You know the staples coleslaw,fried okra, french fries.
We make our own dessertsin-house, so we have a cornbread
(16:12):
pudding.
We also have a really reallycool uh play on the uh banana
bread pudding.
We use biscoff cookies insteadof vanilla wafers so it gives it
a nice little different flavorcontrast sold, uh, and then, uh,
we teamed up with the trash icecream and they're doing ice
cream sandwiches for us.
So one of the ice creamsandwiches is really cool.
(16:32):
It's a play on a possum pie,which is a famous Arkansas
dessert, and took all the flavorprofiles that you find in a
possum pie and did it in an icecream sandwich form.
Beth Bobbitt (16:40):
Wow, so it's really cool, yeah.
So what are people saying?
What has been the community'sresponse?
AJ Baird (16:46):
I mean so far, I mean it's been, you know, just
positivity.
Two weeks in, you know so uh,we're still growing and still,
you know, building up andgetting better and better every
day.
But I mean, the community hasreally taken to us.
And that was one really coolthing uh april did.
Uh, you know, as far asmarketing, we had a community uh
uh grill and what we did was wesent out just one kingsford
(17:11):
charcoal brick out out to thecommunity to you know about 2
000 different residences, and wetold them, you know, one
briquette won't do anything, butif you bring together all of
them, we could start a fire andwe could cook for you, so that
was kind of the community eventthat we did, you know, during
the grand opening weekend yeah,so
Chef Rob Nelson (17:28):
yeah, except mother, mother nature didn't
play along yeah, so we had.
So we couldn't light it.
Beth Bobbitt (17:36):
We had the ceremonial bag placement.
Chef Rob Nelson (17:39):
But then it's like well, you can't really
light a charcoal fire when it'sdownpouring.
Beth Bobbitt (17:43):
I think the message probably translated
though.
AJ Baird (17:46):
Right.
Oh yeah, it was the thoughtthat counted, yeah.
Beth Bobbitt (17:49):
Yeah it was.
Chef Rob Nelson (17:50):
It was the thought that counted right.
Beth Bobbitt (17:52):
Yeah, yeah, it was , it was awesome.
And you talk about wanting tobe different in terms of the
style and the culinaryexperience, but what about the
space itself?
You guys are not the same asother barbecue joints, and one
thing that distinguishes you isthe live music, and then the
other is the mechanical bull.
(18:12):
I'm sure it's incrediblyentertaining.
Chef Rob Nelson (18:15):
It's a mechanical hog Hog, of course it
is.
Of course it is, it's a hog,absolutely.
Beth Bobbitt (18:21):
Thank you for correcting me.
Chef Rob Nelson (18:23):
Any funny backstories there.
The hog is hilarious, right, wehave so many with the families,
right, the kids are like what isthat?
Oh, it's a mechanical hog.
And they just their eyes lightfamilies, right, the kids are
like what is that?
Oh, it's a, it's a mechanicalhog.
And they just their eyes lightup.
And the kids are like I want toride it.
And so we uh, yeah, we did.
Uh, yeah, the opening, thegrand opening weekend, we, we
had a bunch of kids cyclethrough it and, um, funny enough
(18:45):
, my niece and nephew, uh, they,they, uh, the excuse to come
see me is the hog, right, soit's not.
They tell my brother hey, Iwant to go see Uncle AJ, but no,
they just want to ride the hog.
Beth Bobbitt (18:58):
Right.
Chef Rob Nelson (18:59):
They don't even want to eat, they just want to
ride the hog.
Beth Bobbitt (19:01):
I mean, it's a draw.
It will work Magic, I'm sure.
Chef Rob Nelson (19:06):
And the other interesting thing is we have I
don't know it's 15 or 16 levels,and so anybody can ride it.
And you see a lot of peoplethat are like what is that?
It's a mechanical hog, you rideit?
No, I want to do it.
And so we have a lot of firsttimers and it's hilarious to
watch people lean right.
(19:30):
So I've never ridden a bull andnever intend to ride a bull, but
I am from the country so I, you, you kind of know how to it's.
It's a little bit like riding awild four wheeler.
Beth Bobbitt (19:40):
Yeah.
Chef Rob Nelson (19:40):
And so you gotta, you gotta, lean back and
you gotta hold on and you gottakeep your, keep your core tight
and you just watch people lean,lean and then just fall off yeah
.
It's the funniest thing.
And it looks so much easierthan it actually is oh yeah, for
sure, and so people have thisfalse confidence.
Yep and one of our ownershipgroup's sons or daughter, or
(20:08):
both.
AJ Baird (20:09):
I think they're siblings.
They both wrote it on expertfor 30 seconds.
Chef Rob Nelson (20:10):
Y'all obviously don't have anything else to do
because there's too muchpractice, Right?
So?
Beth Bobbitt (20:15):
I mean, this thing can take on a life of its own.
AJ Baird (20:17):
Oh yeah.
Beth Bobbitt (20:18):
Hog cam coming there's.
We got to name the naming.
Chef Rob Nelson (20:24):
We have the naming out on social right now.
That's amazing, yeah.
So I don't know what's in thelead.
Beth Bobbitt (20:30):
You'll have to keep us posted on that and let
us know where it ends up.
Absolutely, yeah it.
Well, you'll have to keep usposted on that and let us know
what where it ends up.
Chef Rob Nelson (20:34):
Absolutely, yeah, it's, it's good stuff, but
, yeah, live music every fridayand saturday night, um, and
local, local musicians um, wehad a had some big success early
with uh, with live music andjust trying to trying to siphon
off some of the, some of thestuff from downtown yeah is.
You know that that's our goal.
(20:54):
It's like, hey, you know, wegot, we're offering, we have
something different.
We got yeah country, we gotrockabilly, we got a little, we
had a little a bluegrass band inand they were awesome.
It was so much fun, wow.
But you're right, the livemusic, the, it's a, it's a meat
house right it's that's, that'swhat we're trying to do, and um,
and I think we've done itpretty successfully.
(21:16):
So pairing the entertainment,something for the kids and then
in great food yeah food, fun andfamily.
AJ Baird (21:22):
What else do you?
Beth Bobbitt (21:22):
need in a hog, a mechanical hog and a hog.
Yeah, I mean oh, I can't waitto visit.
This is, this is amazing.
Well, thank you both.
Before we wrap up, we alwaysask one question of our guest,
and it's really to kind ofdesign a dream day in
Bentonville from beginning toend.
So what would you do if youjust had a day to play?
(21:45):
Where would you go?
What would you eat?
AJ Baird (21:49):
Yeah.
So I mean, since I've done somelifestyle changes, I've been
really into mountain biking, so,uh, I've taken a couple of my
friends from out of town.
We'll do a morning ride, uh,end up at crystal bridges and
get to show them off, you know,the museum and then, uh, just
walk around downtown and I meanthere's many different
(22:10):
restaurants.
I mean right now I'm loving, uh, barclita and Conifer, so I
definitely would try to checkout one of those spots, you know
, because of course, we'll go toTuscan Trotter of course you
know, while they're in town.
But uh, yeah, those two uhrestaurants right now you know
are really doing a great job,and uh then probably end it with
some uh trash ice cream yeswalk down the street and
(22:32):
definitely get a pint Beautiful.
Beth Bobbitt (22:34):
What about you AJ?
Chef Rob Nelson (22:36):
Yeah, I love the outdoors and I grew up in
rural Mississippi and didn'thave neighbors till I was 13.
So I love being in nature.
I can ride a bike, but I'm nota mountain biker bike, but I
won't.
I'm not a mountain biker, eventhough I do enjoy it.
Um, but you know, I think, uh,more hiking, you know, going on
(23:02):
a on a on a hike, just enjoyingnature, doing a little fishing.
Um, I love the love, uh, troutfishing and any kind of
freshwater fishing, and so, andmaybe even, um, you know, finish
the day with a, with a good oldcookout, um, and and and maybe
source some, source some localmeats from um there's a, there's
a lot of great butchers in town, um, and you know it's just
(23:25):
about spending time with peopleand uh, and you know, slowing
down a little bit.
You know, we, the restaurantbusiness is crazy and, and I
think, for me, what you can goeight or ten minutes out of
Bentonville and see, still be inthe city and still be by
yourself or be with, you know,be with your close friends, and
(23:47):
so for me it would be moreslowing down and just enjoying
the time.
Beth Bobbitt (23:51):
Yeah, oh, that's great Aspirational for sure.
Well, thank you both.
Thanks, AJ.
Oh, that's great Aspirationalfor sure.
Well, thank you both.
Thanks, AJ and Rob, for beinghere.
AJ Baird (23:58):
Appreciate your time.
Chef Rob Nelson (23:58):
Thanks for having us.
Yeah, thank you so much.
Beth Bobbitt (24:02):
Yeah, encourage everyone to check out Brothers
Meat House.
AJ Baird (24:05):
And also TUS Downtown Rogers.
Beth Bobbitt (24:07):
It's only been open a month and a half now.
Yeah, that's right.
Chef Rob Nelson (24:10):
So it all.
Beth Bobbitt (24:12):
Love it.
Chef Rob Nelson (24:12):
Yeah, Tusk Rogers is a great spot.
We've got a great patio.
Beth Bobbitt (24:16):
Perfect.
Well, thank you both.
Don't forget to check that out,and Visit Bentonville is here
to help you navigate things todo, where to eat and stay and
what's going on in our newAmerican town.
Give us a follow on socialmedia, sign up for the
newsletter and check out ourwebsite at visitbentonvillecom.
Thanks for listening.
Welcome to A New American Town presented by Visit
Bentonville.
I'm your host, beth Bobbitt,broadcasting from Haxton Road
Studio, and today we're excitedto speak with AJ Baird,
president of Good Gravy Group,and Chef Rob Nelson, culinary
director, about their newestrestaurant, brothers Meat House.
Welcome, thank you both forbeing here.
AJ Baird (00:30):
Thanks for having us, Beth.
Yeah, thank you.
Beth Bobbitt (00:33):
Yeah, so first of all, probably a trigger warning
for listeners.
We will be talking about food,so if you're hungry, just know
that going into it.
So let's start with a littlebit about each of your stories.
Aj, how did you get involvedwith Good Gravy Group and
hospitality in general?
AJ Baird (00:53):
Yeah, I started.
I caught the bug early.
I started at Sonic when I wasgosh 15, 14.
Can I say 14?
It was a long time ago.
Beth Bobbitt (01:03):
Labor laws.
AJ Baird (01:04):
Yeah, labor laws.
I think the statute oflimitations on long time ago
Labor laws yeah, labor, I thinkthat.
I think the statute oflimitations on that is over.
Beth Bobbitt (01:08):
So we're good there.
AJ Baird (01:09):
Oh, I won't say where .
And so started 14, making hotdogs and caught the bug when I
was, when I turned 15, I wasdoing things in the kitchen that
back then you could do.
I could work the grill, I couldwork the fryer, and I was
opening and closing the building, doing a lot of things and just
(01:29):
really enjoyed it.
Worked at Sonic for two yearsbefore I went to college and,
you know, never really thought Iwas going to be in the
restaurant business.
And then, out of college, I wasat a wedding and one of my, one
of my good friends said hey, we, we opened a restaurant in our
hometown.
(01:50):
You want to come work there?
And I was, uh, I was a securityguard at a casino.
It's like, yeah, it sounds muchbetter than this.
And so it was McAllister's Deliin 19,.
What was that 1998.
What was that 1998?
(02:14):
And so, and fast forward, 25years, I was with the brand uh
for 25, uh, 25 years and wentthrough, uh, started as an
assistant manager, dideverything and uh, the, the
running joke at the company wasI was, I was like an old pin you
couldn't lose.
And uh, cause I was, just, Iwas, I was around.
And so we, uh, throughacquisitions and, and this and
that, and the way business flows, uh, the my last, uh, I left in
(02:37):
2020, 23.
Um, but, uh, we had, um 135restaurants in 11 States and I,
I exited the company, we sold itand I exited a year later and,
uh, it was.
It was a wild ride and what Irealized through this whole
restaurant odyssey was I enjoyedum people and I get my energy
(03:02):
from people and then I alsoenjoy making, uh, making people
happy through the hospitality offood.
And, uh, you know, I met I metApril a year and a half ago, uh,
just through a mutual friend.
Um, you know, my dad said hey,uh, you don't have a job anymore
.
You probably need a job.
I want to introduce you tosomebody, and it was a mutual
(03:25):
friend of April's and it's kindof how the good gravy thing
started.
We, we, we were talking and Iwas like you know what I've
never, I haven't never done fullservice?
Mcallister's is is quick serveand you know the one, the one
thing that I never got a chanceto do it professionally was
explore culinary, cause we, wehad a set menu.
We had to do it professionallywas explore culinary because we,
we had a set menu.
(03:45):
We had to do what mcalcer'scorporate said we had to do and
we were very successful at itand the the opportunity with
good gravy felt it felt right.
Uh, I love, I love barbecue.
I'm an amateur, uh, unlike robwho's a professional, um and uh.
So when I heard about brothersand Brothers and then I'd been
(04:07):
to Tuscan Trotter and lovedTuscan Trotter still do, and
yeah, so we kind of we dated alittle bit and then I joined in
April and I did it's April inApril, but yeah, and so here I
am, my my parents live inFayetteville, my brother lives
in in Bentonville, so I havesome connection there, family
(04:30):
wise, and and it was a, it'sbeen a wild ride so far.
I mean, we've opened threerestaurants and since April well
, since, since May, so it's it'sfun.
Beth Bobbitt (04:41):
That is a bizarre.
I mean just to think aboutthree in like a year.
That's crazy fast yeah, and Ilove the growth.
AJ Baird (04:51):
I love the growth.
That's what's so much fun.
And at a certain level, when wehad so many restaurants in my
previous life, I lost the get upand go for growing restaurants
because it became moreaccounting function for me, and
so I started over again.
Beth Bobbitt (05:11):
Yay me I don't know if I'm crazy or not, but
here we are.
Yeah, it sounds like there'ssome ground floor and autonomy.
You know that would beappealing after such commitment
for so long.
And so, rob, many of our locallisteners will likely know you
if they're paying attention tothe culinary movement here and,
(05:34):
of course, associate you withTuscan Trotter.
Talk a little bit about thebackground of how that
experience with Tuscan Trotterkind of translated into this
hospitality group which hasclearly grown.
Chef Rob Nelson (05:49):
Yeah, so yeah.
Tuscan Trotter it started in2011.
That's our flagship restaurant,and started it with a small
group of business partners andour ownership team, and it just
took off like wildfire and uh,we all just uh decided that we
actually love what we're doing,we're really good at what we do,
(06:11):
so why not uh venture out andsee you know how the restaurant
group thing will work?
And uh, from tuscan trotter itwent on to uh, the second one
was butcher and pint, and thenTrash Ice Cream followed suit
right after that.
Beth Bobbitt (06:26):
Thank you for that .
Yeah, well, you're welcome.
Chef Rob Nelson (06:31):
So after Trash Ice Cream we opened up High
South Catering.
It is our catering arm and itjust kind of grew from there.
And then we're testing thewaters out with a restaurant
management not actually owning arestaurant.
So down in Fayetteville onDickson Street is the Leroy,
which is a sporting lounge.
(06:52):
We manage and operate it.
And then we opened up thesecond Tusk and Trotter Rogers.
In downtown Rogers we have amountain biking bar called the
Bend.
It's in North Bentonville rightoff the Arkansas greenway, and
uh yeah, so I mean and then, uh,just two weeks ago, opened up
(07:12):
our first barbecue jointbrothers meat house.
Beth Bobbitt (07:15):
And you look so awake and alert.
It's just um, it's just amazing.
I mean what you know, you'reable to keep up with the so
what's really cool is our youknow our ownership group.
Chef Rob Nelson (07:28):
They all have a talent that they bring to the
table.
You know, I have culinary onlockdown.
We've got AJ, who's a stud atoperations, and then you got
April who does everythingmarketing, and I mean we even
got a social media team.
We got our own accounting firm.
I mean we're actually becominglegit, a well-oiled machine.
It's really cool, yeah, in thepast few years of really hitting
(07:50):
the ground, running and growingthe business and growing the
brand, and you know it's been afun wild ride so far.
Beth Bobbitt (07:56):
Yeah, really fast ride Right, right.
Well, and let's talk aboutBrothers Meat House.
So this is the new barbecuehotspot.
For those of you that haven'theard, it's on Fifth Street in
Bentonville, but it is so muchmore than a barbecue joint.
So can you talk a little bitabout the concept, maybe the
(08:21):
significance of the?
AJ Baird (08:22):
name little punny thing going there.
Yeah, you want to take?
Chef Rob Nelson (08:24):
that one.
Yeah, absolutely, yeah in there.
Uh, yeah, yeah, you want totake that one.
Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
So so the brothers was actuallyconceived well before I arrived,
the five years in the makingfive, yeah, five years in the
making, absolutely, and it, itwas really around, uh, you know,
a backyard barbecue and howdoes you know how, how barbecue
(08:46):
and how grilling and how thatwhole experience brings people
together, right?
And so the backyard barbecue is, uh, you know, very American
and it's very, uh, community, uhoriented.
And so the the this whole thingwas hey, how do we, how do we
(09:07):
bring people together?
How do you, um, you know, howdo you do that without, without
it being, uh, something thatsomebody else has done before?
And so you know, look, wefollow a lot of, a lot of great,
you know, barbecue restaurants,you know regionally.
And then you have Wright's, whodoes a great job, right, and
(09:30):
they beat us to the market.
Wright's has been open what?
Four years now.
I guess Four or five.
They opened in 2020, if I'm notmistaken and do a great job.
Love Wright's.
And so a little take on whatBrothers is doing, and what we
wanna do is is we want to create, uh, it's a, it's a sit-down
(09:51):
restaurant.
You have a, you have a uhservice staff, we have a great
bar.
It's about 30 feet long, um,and tvs and everything that
you'd want to to have a.
Have a nice, have a nice time.
You know rights and a lot ofthese, a lot of the other
barbecue guys and gals out thereare doing the, the counter
service and then, um, you go,you can go eat in the picnic
(10:12):
tables, you can just take itwith you.
And so we wanted to.
We wanted to blend that withwith outstanding food and then a
place to meet.
Hence the pun.
And so the so we have.
We have a very comfortableatmosphere and and really we,
you know, when you open arestaurant, number one, you go
(10:33):
god, is anybody going to evershow up, right?
Um, you know, when I, when weopen the doors, uh, you know,
and I've opened a bunch ofrestaurants and that same, that
same fear gets you.
It's like, oh, is anybody goingto come?
Did I make a mistake?
What is going on?
Um, and, yes, people will comeand they have.
We've been really busy, firsttwo weeks and then, secondly, is
(10:56):
what, organically and how is itgoing to grow?
And really, the families arecoming out in droves.
We've got a nice place to hangout outside and and it's, it's
been really interesting to watchjust the natural mix of people
and patrons.
And it's been awesome and look,we have some challenges, the
(11:19):
contrast from McAllister's andhaving a set menu to.
We created the menu, we createdthe processes and procedures,
we built the kitchen, we builteverything and so we're still
making it happen everything.
And so, uh, you know, we'rewe're, we're still making it
happen.
And, uh, you know, and Rob'sdone a great job with the menu
and and sprinkling his egg,sprinkling in his expertise and
(11:40):
using a lot, a lot, a lot oflocal flavors.
Um, you know, and I'll let Robspeak to that, but I tell you,
we use sorghum, uh, in ourbarbecue sauce and I just it
just makes it all the differencemakes it true Arkansas yeah
AJ Baird (11:54):
yeah, so that's kind of what we're trying to define.
You know, arkansas is usually aflyover zone when it comes to
food in general, but you knowwe're in a spot to where we have
Kansas City to the north, yougot Memphis to the east, you got
Texas down south a lot of greatbarbecue you know.
So what is Arkansas barbecue?
So it's an ever evolving thing.
Is what we're saying?
(12:14):
We're in the infancy of itright now.
What aj just said we're using alot of local ingredients to
kind of tell the story, usinglocal product when we can.
And uh, also, what's known inthe ozark region, uh, it's
called twice cooking, so it'swhere you smoke and then you
finish over coals.
So, uh, we've had the privilegeof being able to partner up
with kingsford charcoal andthey're fueling, uh brothers for
(12:39):
us.
So everything goes out on thesmoker.
Then we'll bring it back inlike our chicken, we'll finish
it back over kingsford charcoal.
So there's your twice cook onit.
But that was, uh, back beforepre-refrigeration days, you know
.
So you would smoke all yourmeat, so you would have it
through the winter.
And then when you were bringingit back up to eat, you would
warm it back up over coals.
So it's kind of a nod to youknow generations of Ozark-style
(13:01):
cooking that we're bringing toBrothers.
And also using, like AJ said,the sorghum syrups, the local
honeys and different things thatyou find in the state to kind
of tell the story of.
Beth Bobbitt (13:10):
Arkansas Barbecue.
That's beautiful.
I love the history and theculture that's so embedded in
what you do, naturally, and Iwonder if you could talk a
little bit about the menuspecifically, and before you do
that, I'd love to hear just howdifferent it's been for you, you
know as a chef, that bouncingaround to different places, and
(13:38):
well I mean.
AJ Baird (13:38):
One cool thing about the group is all of our concepts
are different from the next one, so it does.
It's never boring yeah you know.
So that's one thing that I justlove.
And, uh, I caught the smokingbug about eight years ago, got
hot and heavy in it, where I'vebeen researching it for the past
five years just, you know,hardcore because I wanted to be
taken seriously.
Within barbecue Barbecuecommunity is a very tight knit
group.
It could be very, you know,standoffish at times, you know,
(14:01):
but I didn't want to be lookedat as that classically trained
French chef.
Oh now he's opening up abarbecue joint.
What?
Chef Rob Nelson (14:07):
does he?
AJ Baird (14:07):
know, you know.
So I got in the back pocket ofsome of the best pit masters in
the United States and went totheir place and learned from
them.
You know, what you know drivesthem and why do they love their
barbecue so much?
Hitting different regions ofthe of the south, you know, and
then took all that informationthat I gathered to try to build,
you know, a story of our own.
(14:34):
Love the research and tell us alittle bit about some of your
signature items, some favorites,yeah, so the twice cooked
chicken is a really good one.
Arkansas is also known forturkey, so we have a really
great turkey dish that we do,and then we'd like to be as
sustainable as possible.
So there's one cool dish that'scalled the OZQ and it's
basically a patty of ourleftover brisket from the night,
(14:56):
our leftover ribs.
We'll take it, take it off thebone, we'll chop it up and form
it into this cool little patty.
It's kind of like a play on acrab cake, basically kind of
like a hillbilly cake.
Beth Bobbitt (15:06):
Yeah.
AJ Baird (15:06):
And it's just all of our meats, so we didn't, you
know, have to waste anything.
And, uh, we pair that withcoleslaw.
And then this uh, nice chipotle, uh barbecue sauce, uh mustard
barbecue sauce base, and it'sfantastic wow uh, then we also
have a play on a Brunswick stewwe call it the Pea Ridge stew
and uh, leftover, you know,meats and stuff go into that.
(15:26):
So we're constantly trying to,you know, be thoughtful about,
you know how to utilize all theingredients and not just wasting
yeah.
So, those are some of myfavorite ones that we do right
now.
Beth Bobbitt (15:36):
And of course.
AJ Baird (15:37):
I love ribs.
Ribs is my favorite thing inthe world.
We do a pretty pretty goodspare rib.
So you need to come try the StLouis ribs out for sure.
Beth Bobbitt (15:44):
Sounds amazing.
I warned you all.
What about the, as we say inArkansas?
What about the fixings?
AJ Baird (15:50):
Oh yeah, the fixings are all from scratch also.
I mean double-deck potato salad, our pit beans we smoke for
four and a half hours out in thepit, and it also gets brisket
added to it.
And then we also have mac andcheese.
You know the staples coleslaw,fried okra, french fries.
We make our own dessertsin-house, so we have a cornbread
(16:12):
pudding.
We also have a really reallycool uh play on the uh banana
bread pudding.
We use biscoff cookies insteadof vanilla wafers so it gives it
a nice little different flavorcontrast sold, uh, and then, uh,
we teamed up with the trash icecream and they're doing ice
cream sandwiches for us.
So one of the ice creamsandwiches is really cool.
(16:32):
It's a play on a possum pie,which is a famous Arkansas
dessert, and took all the flavorprofiles that you find in a
possum pie and did it in an icecream sandwich form.
Beth Bobbitt (16:40):
Wow, so it's really cool, yeah.
So what are people saying?
What has been the community'sresponse?
AJ Baird (16:46):
I mean so far, I mean it's been, you know, just
positivity.
Two weeks in, you know so uh,we're still growing and still,
you know, building up andgetting better and better every
day.
But I mean, the community hasreally taken to us.
And that was one really coolthing uh april did.
Uh, you know, as far asmarketing, we had a community uh
uh grill and what we did was wesent out just one kingsford
(17:11):
charcoal brick out out to thecommunity to you know about 2
000 different residences, and wetold them, you know, one
briquette won't do anything, butif you bring together all of
them, we could start a fire andwe could cook for you, so that
was kind of the community eventthat we did, you know, during
the grand opening weekend yeah,so
Chef Rob Nelson (17:28):
yeah, except mother, mother nature didn't
play along yeah, so we had.
So we couldn't light it.
Beth Bobbitt (17:36):
We had the ceremonial bag placement.
Chef Rob Nelson (17:39):
But then it's like well, you can't really
light a charcoal fire when it'sdownpouring.
Beth Bobbitt (17:43):
I think the message probably translated
though.
AJ Baird (17:46):
Right.
Oh yeah, it was the thoughtthat counted, yeah.
Beth Bobbitt (17:49):
Yeah it was.
Chef Rob Nelson (17:50):
It was the thought that counted right.
Beth Bobbitt (17:52):
Yeah, yeah, it was , it was awesome.
And you talk about wanting tobe different in terms of the
style and the culinaryexperience, but what about the
space itself?
You guys are not the same asother barbecue joints, and one
thing that distinguishes you isthe live music, and then the
other is the mechanical bull.
(18:12):
I'm sure it's incrediblyentertaining.
Chef Rob Nelson (18:15):
It's a mechanical hog Hog, of course it
is.
Of course it is, it's a hog,absolutely.
Beth Bobbitt (18:21):
Thank you for correcting me.
Chef Rob Nelson (18:23):
Any funny backstories there.
The hog is hilarious, right, wehave so many with the families,
right, the kids are like what isthat?
Oh, it's a mechanical hog.
And they just their eyes lightfamilies, right, the kids are
like what is that?
Oh, it's a, it's a mechanicalhog.
And they just their eyes lightup.
And the kids are like I want toride it.
And so we uh, yeah, we did.
Uh, yeah, the opening, thegrand opening weekend, we, we
had a bunch of kids cyclethrough it and, um, funny enough
(18:45):
, my niece and nephew, uh, they,they, uh, the excuse to come
see me is the hog, right, soit's not.
They tell my brother hey, Iwant to go see Uncle AJ, but no,
they just want to ride the hog.
Beth Bobbitt (18:58):
Right.
Chef Rob Nelson (18:59):
They don't even want to eat, they just want to
ride the hog.
Beth Bobbitt (19:01):
I mean, it's a draw.
It will work Magic, I'm sure.
Chef Rob Nelson (19:06):
And the other interesting thing is we have I
don't know it's 15 or 16 levels,and so anybody can ride it.
And you see a lot of peoplethat are like what is that?
It's a mechanical hog, you rideit?
No, I want to do it.
And so we have a lot of firsttimers and it's hilarious to
watch people lean right.
(19:30):
So I've never ridden a bull andnever intend to ride a bull, but
I am from the country so I, you, you kind of know how to it's.
It's a little bit like riding awild four wheeler.
Beth Bobbitt (19:40):
Yeah.
Chef Rob Nelson (19:40):
And so you gotta, you gotta, lean back and
you gotta hold on and you gottakeep your, keep your core tight
and you just watch people lean,lean and then just fall off yeah
.
It's the funniest thing.
And it looks so much easierthan it actually is oh yeah, for
sure, and so people have thisfalse confidence.
Yep and one of our ownershipgroup's sons or daughter, or
(20:08):
both.
AJ Baird (20:09):
I think they're siblings.
They both wrote it on expertfor 30 seconds.
Chef Rob Nelson (20:10):
Y'all obviously don't have anything else to do
because there's too muchpractice, Right?
So?
Beth Bobbitt (20:15):
I mean, this thing can take on a life of its own.
AJ Baird (20:17):
Oh yeah.
Beth Bobbitt (20:18):
Hog cam coming there's.
We got to name the naming.
Chef Rob Nelson (20:24):
We have the naming out on social right now.
That's amazing, yeah.
So I don't know what's in thelead.
Beth Bobbitt (20:30):
You'll have to keep us posted on that and let
us know where it ends up.
Absolutely, yeah it.
Well, you'll have to keep usposted on that and let us know
what where it ends up.
Chef Rob Nelson (20:34):
Absolutely, yeah, it's, it's good stuff, but
, yeah, live music every fridayand saturday night, um, and
local, local musicians um, wehad a had some big success early
with uh, with live music andjust trying to trying to siphon
off some of the, some of thestuff from downtown yeah is.
You know that that's our goal.
(20:54):
It's like, hey, you know, wegot, we're offering, we have
something different.
We got yeah country, we gotrockabilly, we got a little, we
had a little a bluegrass band inand they were awesome.
It was so much fun, wow.
But you're right, the livemusic, the, it's a, it's a meat
house right it's that's, that'swhat we're trying to do, and um,
and I think we've done itpretty successfully.
(21:16):
So pairing the entertainment,something for the kids and then
in great food yeah food, fun andfamily.
AJ Baird (21:22):
What else do you?
Beth Bobbitt (21:22):
need in a hog, a mechanical hog and a hog.
Yeah, I mean oh, I can't waitto visit.
This is, this is amazing.
Well, thank you both.
Before we wrap up, we alwaysask one question of our guest,
and it's really to kind ofdesign a dream day in
Bentonville from beginning toend.
So what would you do if youjust had a day to play?
(21:45):
Where would you go?
What would you eat?
AJ Baird (21:49):
Yeah.
So I mean, since I've done somelifestyle changes, I've been
really into mountain biking, so,uh, I've taken a couple of my
friends from out of town.
We'll do a morning ride, uh,end up at crystal bridges and
get to show them off, you know,the museum and then, uh, just
walk around downtown and I meanthere's many different
(22:10):
restaurants.
I mean right now I'm loving, uh, barclita and Conifer, so I
definitely would try to checkout one of those spots, you know
, because of course, we'll go toTuscan Trotter of course you
know, while they're in town.
But uh, yeah, those two uhrestaurants right now you know
are really doing a great job,and uh then probably end it with
some uh trash ice cream yeswalk down the street and
(22:32):
definitely get a pint Beautiful.
Beth Bobbitt (22:34):
What about you AJ?
Chef Rob Nelson (22:36):
Yeah, I love the outdoors and I grew up in
rural Mississippi and didn'thave neighbors till I was 13.
So I love being in nature.
I can ride a bike, but I'm nota mountain biker bike, but I
won't.
I'm not a mountain biker, eventhough I do enjoy it.
Um, but you know, I think, uh,more hiking, you know, going on
(23:02):
a on a on a hike, just enjoyingnature, doing a little fishing.
Um, I love the love, uh, troutfishing and any kind of
freshwater fishing, and so, andmaybe even, um, you know, finish
the day with a, with a good oldcookout, um, and and and maybe
source some, source some localmeats from um there's a, there's
a lot of great butchers in town, um, and you know it's just
(23:25):
about spending time with peopleand uh, and you know, slowing
down a little bit.
You know, we, the restaurantbusiness is crazy and, and I
think, for me, what you can goeight or ten minutes out of
Bentonville and see, still be inthe city and still be by
yourself or be with, you know,be with your close friends, and
(23:47):
so for me it would be moreslowing down and just enjoying
the time.
Beth Bobbitt (23:51):
Yeah, oh, that's great Aspirational for sure.
Well, thank you both.
Thanks, AJ.
Oh, that's great Aspirationalfor sure.
Well, thank you both.
Thanks, AJ and Rob, for beinghere.
AJ Baird (23:58):
Appreciate your time.
Chef Rob Nelson (23:58):
Thanks for having us.
Yeah, thank you so much.
Beth Bobbitt (24:02):
Yeah, encourage everyone to check out Brothers
Meat House.
AJ Baird (24:05):
And also TUS Downtown Rogers.
Beth Bobbitt (24:07):
It's only been open a month and a half now.
Yeah, that's right.
Chef Rob Nelson (24:10):
So it all.
Beth Bobbitt (24:12):
Love it.
Chef Rob Nelson (24:12):
Yeah, Tusk Rogers is a great spot.
We've got a great patio.
Beth Bobbitt (24:16):
Perfect.
Well, thank you both.
Don't forget to check that out,and Visit Bentonville is here
to help you navigate things todo, where to eat and stay and
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