ST. LOUIS — There's reason to celebrate at Heavy Smoke BBQ.
The St. Peters-based barbecue restaurant last weekend won the title of grand champion at the 33rd Annual Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue competition in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Winning one of the nation's biggest and most prestigious barbecue competitions netted co-owners Chris Schafer and Chad Brewer a $25,000 prize, bragging rights and a chance to defend its title next year.
But in a sign of the times in restaurant economics, Schafer said Heavy Smoke isn't planning, for now, to use the winnings for expansion or other big investments. Instead, he figures it's safer to hold onto to it at a time when food costs have doubled in the two years Heavy Smoke has been open.
“I can’t double my prices, or nobody would walk through the door," he said. "So, as a small business owner, it’s like you kind of eat that cost and do the best you can to price it where you can make money but where you’re also not gouging people.”
Schafer began cooking competition barbecue in 2011 and teamed up with fellow pitmaster Chad Brewer to start Heavy Smoke BBQ as a food truck in 2017. Schafer and Brewer had previously worked together in a restaurant from 2000 to 2007, and Schafer’s wife, Danielle, is vice president of operations.
When Schafer lost his day job amid the Covid-19 pandemic, he and his business partners decided to go all-in and open a restaurant. The brick-and-mortar location at 4270 N. Service Road opened in November 2020.
The challenge made the business more resilient, Schafer said.
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