Gotta admit I don’t do much wild partying anymore so I really wasn’t up on the Red Solo cup till I watched a music awards show. I thought, that just looks like too much fun so Country’s has gotta get in on it — we love fun. So here’s what we decided to do. If you come to Country’s Barbecue on any Monday after 4 PM and bring your RED SOLO cup and order any adult meal; including salads, sandwiches and such, we’ll keep it full of tea for FREE.

Now that all sounds easy, simple and straight forward — fun. But you know and I know somehow it’ll get complicated so here’s the detail rules, sort of:

1. You have to bring a RED SOLO cup

2. You must order some adult meal — bowl of stew, plate, platter, whatever

3. Yes you may get it to go but tea has to be in your RED SOLO cup

4. If you transfer the tea to one of our cups ya gotta pay full price — that applies to dine in as well

There ya go. It sounds like fun to me and saves you around two bucks on every meal. Bring a party of ten and you just saved almost $20. We’re not advertising this anywhere except online and in the restaurants so you can keep it as your own secret or tell everybody you know.

I hope you enjoy and have fun. Give me some feedback and let me know………and, oh yeah one more thing……you didn’t really think I was gonna do beer did you?

RED SOLO FREE TEA OFFER IS VALID IN COLUMBUS – CHECK WITH YOUR COUNTRY’S TO SEE IF THEY ARE PARTICIPATING

If you come in Country’s on Mercury maybe you knew Daniel or saw him working in his camo shirts with the top cut out of a garbage bag and placed over his head in place of an apron — said it kept him dryer. Daniel always came in early and made the strongest cup of coffee he could and then talked about how many bad people there are in the world and reported on any bad things he’d seen on TV the day before. Sometimes Daniel would talk too long and we’d be a little short with him as we hurried around trying to be important — but overall Daniel was a member of our family and everyone tried to look after him as best we could. Dot, Scott and Kelley were always there for Daniel.

At Christmas we all gave Daniel presents but the neatest thing was the joy Daniel had in buying presents for others. He never had much from a material standpoint but loved to buy presents and would give you anything he had if you needed it. At the same time he was a tough cookie and most folks knew better than to cross him.

You know he was a tough cookie when you consider he worked as a dishwasher for over 30 years — well into his seventies. I can personally tell you that in his seventies Daniel could work circles around any young person and did so daily. He was always on hand for special events — Midnight Express or Reindeer Run –Daniel was there. Daniel lived near our office and you’d better not be doing anything wrong there or you’d have to deal with him.

You might have noticed there is no picture with this blog. I tried for years to take a picture of Daniel. Whenever he was employee of the month Daniel would not allow a photo. He said he believed that taking a photo stole your spirit — so be it Daniel — your spirit was never stolen and will be with us always.

To have your own business, no matter how big or small, you need that yearning deep down in your soul that says “I’m just too damn ornery to work for anyone else.” Boy did I ever have that! No matter what job I had all I did was think of having my own business and I did have a variety of jobs. I threw papers at eleven years old, worked in retail clothing at 14, worked in a canning plant, worked in a quality control lab, repaired and sold business machines, programmed computers, worked as a systems analyst, ran a computer service bureau and sold data processing services.  All the time I worked at these other jobs I dreamed of having my own. I sat alone and thought about it, I drove the roads looking for an opportunity, I watched my friends that had their own and I read countless books. At one point I was a systems analyst for Lithonia Lighting in Atlanta — I told my VP that I wanted to experience the ups and downs of the business and not live in the grey area. He said “Well son the only way you’ll do that is to be president of the company or start your own dang business.” He was very right!

At the time that the opportunity came for Country’s I was working in Data Processing at CB&T. In my opinion and probably theirs as well, I was doing a less than great job. I just could not get comfortable working for a large company and couldn’t rid myself of the desire to have my own business. My BFF Jack Basset had just opened his advertising business and was working with a wealthy guy named Jerry Gandy (drove a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow). Jerry owned a place called Jakes for Steaks and just didn’t think it made enough money so he tried to upgrade it to an upscale steak house — Trader Jakes. It didn’t work well enough and Jerry wanted to just quit having to worry about Columbus, Ga — he was from Tallahassee.

Jack knew I was miserable and wanted my own business more than anything in the world and so introduced me to Jerry. When I lived in Atlanta, I use to love eating at Old Hickory House. I couldn’t believe it — a barbecue place that sold beer, used real dishes and sold menu items other than barbecue. That was my dream. I knew Columbus had — and still does — lots of great barbecue but there was no full service barbecue joint — maybe I could make that work. I was a young guy 31 years old; Jerry was older with tons of business experience but somehow he took a liking to me. He knew I was on fire and thought my idea was decent. In fact, he liked me so much or wanted to get out of town so much, that he made me an offer that enabled me to get in business. I have forever been indebted to lots of folks for helping me but Jerry was certainly the most important at the time and the most meaningful since he barely knew me — a good thing since all the money I had in the world was $300 bucks.

Jerry said — I tell you what Jim, I’ll give you everything in the the restaurant; all the chairs, tables, dishes, cash register, kitchen equipment, everything. In addition, Jim, I’ll half the rent for the first year. At the end of the first year if it’s not working then just walk away. BUT, if you stay then you owe me for everything plus interest and the rent will double against 7% of sales. Jerry left this world around three years ago but he’ll never leave my heart.

Now the problem became how do I get any operating capital. I was a minor officer at the bank at that time and they very wisely would not lend me any money but were pretty happy to see me go. At the time I was fortunate enough to be President of the Columbus Jaycees — back then that was a big deal. I learned more and made more friends in the Jaycees than any time before. I could write a large blog just on what the Jaycees meant to me, how it truly changed my life and might tell that story later. There were so many folks there that helped me so much like Jack Basset, Louie Willett, Mort Harris, Mike Kennedy and countless others. I still count so many folks from that time as good friends. I knew I had to formulate a business plan and so called on another friend from Royal Crown Cola — Nolan Murrah — Nolan has also left this world and leaves many a friend behind. Nolan helped me put the plan together and make it such that I could sell it. From that point I began calling on folks one by one showing them the plan.

After some unsuccessful attempts I called another Jaycee acquaintance — Mike Kennedy. Mike was brave enough to help and without him I might not have had another chance. We didn’t use any of our own money — my $300 wouldn’t be much help — but the bank agreed to loan us $17,000 with Mike consigning and me putting up my house, car or anything else that could be attached.

With that investment and lots of help from friends and family Country’s was started.

Lots of things have changed over 37 years.  Thousands of folks working with Country’s have come and gone — good friends have passed on. I’m indebted for life to so many that helped us after opening the doors — but that is essentially how we got started. It’s been an incredible adventure that I hope is going to continue way into the future.

THANK YOU COLUMBUS FOR 37 YEARS — THANK YOU FOR PUTTING UP WITH OUR MISTAKES AND FOR YOUR BUSINESS TODAY!  THANK YOU ALL WHO HAVE HELPED TO MAKE COUNTRY’S BARBECUE WORK.  And no, I wasn’t good looking 37 years ago either

They’re incredibly simple provided you have some of our medium sauce and some good onions. I recommend Vidallia onions or a sweet Spanish onion. Peel your onions and slice them thin. Then soak them in a 50/50 mixture of Country’s medium sauce and white vinegar — takes a couple days to get’em right. Don’t have any of our sauce — well just stop by and buy some or order online y’all!

UGH OUR BUSINESS HAS GONE TO THE PITS!!!     Actually and thankfully it’s always been the pits.

Pictured above is someone that knows a lot more about our pit than I do. Darrell is an extraordinary Pit Master — he’s one of around 10 that we have the good fortune of working with. So what makes Country’s barbecue pretty ole good? It’s a combination of folks like Darrell (which we will visit at a different time) and the pits.

Our pit in each restaurant is like the one above. Barbecue is kinda like wine in France — it’s different in each region of the country. It’s all good but personally I think Columbus has some of the best to be found — I guess my personal favorite besides Country’s is Smokey Pig. Most folks in this area (but not all) use the open pit style like ours and most have stayed true to real Columbus, GA barbecue.

In some parts of the US they say their having a barbecue when they’re cookin hot dogs on a grill — folks I’m here to say “That ain’t no barbecue.” for me barbecue has to be either pork, beef or chicken — you can smoke or grill other stuff. There are two main ways to barbecue — indirect heat and open pit. Both have pluses and minuses. Barbecue has to be cooked slowly and has to be cooked 100% over wood or coals — got no use for pits that use gas for heat and just pump in smoke for flavor — yuck!

Indirect heat seems to give a lot of smoke flavor and less outside meat ( y’all do know what outside meat is don’t you). Also, with indirect, the flavor can be a little less complex. With an open pit you have to really control the heat or you get too much — happens to us occasionally. But to me the advantage of an open pit is the complex flavor. On an open pit the fat and juices drip down on the coals and create that incredible smell you get when you get out of your car or just have your window down — a mile away. I love barbecue cooked either way — open pit or indirect — but I think overall flavor is best from an open pit.

The pit pictured above was built 37 years ago and cooks incredibly when a great Pit Master is at the helm. It takes about 7 hours for our pork, 4 for ribs, 10 to 12 hours for brisket and about 2 for chicken. For me the best wood is Red Oak mixed with hickory.

We have a variety of pits we use for catering but each restaurant has one just like the above to carry the daily load of feeding lots of hungry folks. We’ll show some pictures and talk about the other pits in the near future. If you’ve seen an unusual pit somewhere I’d love to hear from you

Here’s another question — who knows why Boston Butts are so named?

I’ve seen it in its heyday and it’s low day and now when downtown is the coolest area in Columbus.  I grew up on Talbotton Rd. and beginning at about age 11 use to catch the bus in front of our house and go downtown for movies and shopping.  Back then my Mom wouldn’t allow me to go downtown in jeans — you had to dress nice.  As I sit here in Fountain City Coffee in my jeans with my shirt tail out and Country’s hat on, I’d say things have changed a little in the last half century.   Downtown of course use to be the hub of everything.  There was great shopping with Kirven’s, J.C. Penney, Bentley’s, Metcalf’s, Chancellor’s (still there as you know) , Davison’s Dept. Store, Kiralfy’s, McCory’s, Kress , Rosenberg Jewelers, Schomburg’s, Sol and Harry and lord knows how many more great stores I can’t think of right now.  If you didn’t have money there was always great window shopping.  Our Christmas tradition was to come look at the window in Kirven’s.  They always had something special for Christmas with animation.  There was also great food like Spano’s, Broadway Billiards for Irish Stew, the restaurant in Kirven’s for chicken salad, great old cafeterias like Morrison’s and meat and three like Strattford’s.

I first started working in downtown at age 14 with Sol & Harry’s.  We sold everything from bed ticking to suits. I worked there part time until age 21.  I met best friends there and played pool across the street almost daily ( whenever Harry wasn’t looking and we could sneak out!)  Before and during that time downtown Columbus became a part of me that’s certainly still there.

In the late 80′s when the old Greyhound bus station became available, I found out Country’s could buy it and I couldn’t resist.  It wasn’t any thought out decision it was just a chance to return to my roots in an area I loved.  It would never have happened without help from the city and Genevive Green at the Woodruff Co.  We opened next to — Video Fantasy — a perfect example that I didn’t really think things through.  We’ve been  lucky over the years being sustained first by the mills and then TSYS and now lucky enough to be part of all the wonderful things happening in downtown.

Downtown has become and is continuing to become an incredible area because of a lot of great city leaders and I consider myself lucky to be able to hold on to their coat tails.  CSU has probably made the biggest difference in downtown.  They’ve tastefully renovated lots of buildings and built many new ones and have built a population of outstanding young people.  Think how lucky we are to have a great high tech anchor like TSYS on one end of Broad and the high intellectual anchor of CSU on the other.

If you don’t frequent downtown — you are missing out.  Just sit in a sidewalk cafe and watch the wonderful eclectic collection of humanity going by.  Dine in any one of the independent restaurants like the Market or the Loft, Old Siam, The Black Cow, Twelfth Street Deli, The Rankin Deli, Picasso Pizza, Uptown Fish, The City Market, Ruth Ann’s, Minnie’s  or — gotta say it — Country’s or have an ice cream at Brother’s.   If you’re young enough, go to one of the clubs, have a brew at The Cannon or just chill at Fountain City Coffee.  During the summer you’re really missing out if you don’t come to the farmer’s market each Saturday morning or go to a Friday night concert.  There’s always something going on from concerts to parades to races to great food to great people watching.  DOWNTOWN is the place to go to get away from the sameness of “GENERICA”.

Over the opening of the pit, covered with years of smoke, is a massive heart of pine beam we salvaged out of an old barn. The outside of the pit is covered with stones we collected ourselves. Every weekend we would scour the woods around Columbus and Harris county looking for stones to build the pit with. I have fond memories of the rock hunts. What could be better for a young boy than tromping through the woods on a spring day? Looking for big rocks, and occasionally finding a snake underneath. Lord knows how many tons of pork has been cooked on the pit. It is the heart and soul of Country’s.

If you haven’t guessed yet Jim is my dad. He opened Country’s in 1975 when I was 11 years old. Some of y’all might remember the first commercial when the whole family sat on the big rocking chair. All of us had to say what our job was at Country’s.  At the time my job was to help with washing dishes and my line in the commercial was “and I clean up the mess they make”. My friends still pick on me about that commercial today, 36 years later.

Back then the whole family was involved including my brother Fred and my mother Janie. Since everyone was working and no one was at home to keep me out of trouble, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my mom and Dott. I learned a lot about food and cooking during those years. From the very beginning everything was made from scratch. I remember my Mom and Dott working hard to create and perfect recipes we still use today.

My mom moved on to do other things. Dott is still working for us and is a big part of Country’s today. My brother moved to Tallahassee and worked under a chef by the name of Jack Shoop for a couple of years. Jack Shoop is one of a handful of American master chefs and now teaches at the Culinary Institute of America. Fred became an incredible chef and created some of the French and Northern Italian dishes at one of our former restaurants, Main Street Cafe. After Main Street Cafe closed Fred decided to go back to school and pursue a completely different career path. He is now an ear nose and throat doctor at St Francs E.N.T. Chances are he put tubes in your child’s ears. Fred followed in the footsteps of our great grandfather, Dr Griffith, who was a pediatrician in Columbus many years ago. Fred is still a great cook and the cheesecake he made for Christmas day is the best I’ve ever had!

As for me, I’ve been with Country’s most of my life. I once thought about doing something else. I went to college and changed majors often. I started with biology at Columbus College and transferred to Auburn. I took a double major at Auburn of pre-veterinary medicine and wildlife biology. Things didn’t go as planned at Auburn and I transferred back to Columbus College and majored in Fine Art. I never considered myself an artist but I love photography and took all the photography classes I could while figuring out my next move. After deciding to pursue a more practical degree I finally got a BA in Computer Information Management. You might say that I have a well rounded education. After graduating from Columbus College I realized I had no desire to work at a desk for a large company, feeding code to a machine.  I decided to stay with the family business, feeding people with good food.

Through the years I have worked in all our restaurants doing one job or the other. Dad made me  wash dishes first, something every teenager should be good at. Then I learned how to cook on the pit and in the kitchen. As a bartender at Main Street Café I learned a lot about waiting tables and customer service. After a few years as assistant manager at the original location I became general manager of Buck and Clyde’s. When Buck and Clyde’s closed I moved to Country’s on Broadway and ran that location for many years. Today I share responsibilities with my dad Jim, and Scott.

My father, like his before, taught me the value of hard work. He taught me to not expect success to be handed to me but to go and get it. He also taught me to love life, adventure, to try new things, and accept the challenges that come. Dad and I have shared many adventures together, sailing, and hiking, scuba diving, horseback riding, and motorcycle rides through hurricanes. The restaurant business has been the greatest adventure that we have shared so far (although that hurricane came close). We have been best friends through it all and still are today. Today I’m raising my own son and working hard to instill in him the same values and love for life that was given to me. I love the business, the people, the challenges, and of course the food!

Grif

SWEET TATER — that’s a word heard lots around Country’s Barbecue.  They’re dang near as popular as barbecue and some of the time just as big as a Boston butt.  Folks always want to know where we get’em and how we fix’em.  Well as you can see most of the time they come from Mississippi — occasionally Alabama.  Marvin at Marvin’s Market keeps us supplied with big ole sweet taters.

How we fix’em is simple.  We rub them with oil and bake at 350° till soft.  After that it’s up to you.  Slather with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar or just eat’em — your choice.  I use to have a real fit and healthy guy that would come in and eat them whole — skin and all.  Then of course if you come in on Friday we peel the taters,  boil them and make sweet potato soufflé.  Personally I like mine with butter and with sliced barbecue pork.  Sometimes my wife has me bring her just a potato for supper — it’s enough if you’re so inclined.

We go to a pretty good bit of trouble to get local good stuff for y’all — ain’t nothing Chinese about our taters.   I hope you enjoy them.  We always try real hard to please you.

e vivi la vita

Jim

Fatty has been living aboard a sailboat for 52 years and has circumnavigated the globe twice on his boat.  He’s seen things I can’t even imagine.  He’s truly a world citizen with an understanding that wouldn’t hurt some of our so called leaders.  Capt. Fatty frequently talks about the fact that when you’re out there on the ocean everything that happens is your fault and that’s one of the things he loves about his life. It occurs to me that ain’t so different from running your own small business.

Whatever happens at Country’s is my fault.  If we make a sandwich wrong or if we’re rude to a guest — it’s my fault.  If we’re late to a cater or if the food’s not up to par — it’s my fault.  All that stuff is my fault but you know what — I love it.  You never know what’s going to happen during a day in the restaurant.  Nothing feels better than having a guest tell you how much they love Country’s and nothing hurts worst than the opposite.

BACK TO SAILING –  I’ve been sailing most of my life but never like Fatty.  I’ve raced boats on lakes, cruised on the ICW, sailed up and down the coast and a few open ocean passages.  For me there’s nothing like sailing — the feeling you get when you shut down the engine and the power of the wind surges you forward is like no other.  I’ve been on the ocean in the middle of the night when the dolphins are dancing through the water and leaving sparkling trails of bioluminescence and I’ve been on the ocean in huge waves hanging my head over the side leaving my own trails of Jimboluminescence and wishing I could just die — love it both ways!

Truthfully I’ve never met a sailor I didn’t like or at least have some respect for.  Most seem to have some understanding of life that goes beyond the norm.  Anyway, like I said Capt. Fatty Goodlander is one of my favorites to read.  His list of resolutions are like looking into my soul and I think I’m going to try and follow them in 2012 — what the heck else I got to do?

For me Christmas is larger than the literal celebration of a birth.  It’s about family, love and charity.  Regardless of what your faith may or may not be when I say Merry Christmas I’m saying I hope you have a good family and get to spend time with them over the holidays — when I say Merry Christmas I’m saying I hope you give and receive love in your life — when I say Merry Christmas I hope you enjoy the generosity or others and are generous yourself.

So here’s wishing you family, love and generosity — a very MERRY CHRISTMAS

Feliz Navidad y Felices Fiestas

Jim