After nearly three and a half years in business, BBQ ASAP (at 15581 Manchester) has closed, effective April 1, according to owner Jim Randall.
In late 2010, Randall and his wife, Mary, partnered up with Harry Freund at Mr. Harry’s Carnival Foods, a novelty concept specializing in grab-and-go carnival fare, like hot dogs and snow cones. The Randalls were accomplished amateur pitmasters (their long list of awards is here), so they added barbecue to Harry's list of offerings. And since the local barbecue scene was hot and only getting hotter, jumping on board that train ultimately made more sense, so the Randalls bought out Freund in early January 2012 and changed the name to BBQ ASAP.
Husband and wife worked 60-80 hours per week (not uncommon in the restaurant business) and under that scenario the business was sustainable. A steady stream of awards translated into a steady stream of customers. SLM praised the hot pastrami Reuben, saying "it might just be the best Reuben in Christendom." In 2013, ASAP took over the business next door, doubling in size. We remember a subsequent mention in SLM, when we referred to the burnt ends as "barbecue nirvana."
Then came the perfect storm: In 2015, Mary was diagnosed with cancer and had to quit working. Jim Randall had to take on additional staff and then Mary passed away in September. To add to the strain, sales volume for first quarter of 2016 fell well behind the prior year.
Randall said the combination of factors made the situation untenable, prompting the sudden closure. “There were like 14 barbecue places in the metro area when we opened in 2012,” he said. “Now I bet there are triple that number.”
“It’s a shame,” Randall lamented, “because this business picks up every year in late spring, and eventually the monthly revenue quadruples. I just wasn't able to hold on...”
