28 December, 2010

The Fire Goes Out at Backyard BBQ in Enfield

Back in April 2010, I wrote about a brand new barbecue place that had opened up in my hometown.  It was called Backyard BBQ.  Their pulled pork was outstanding, and they also made the best barbecue baked beans anywhere, hands down.

Unfortunately, I headed that way last week - just before Christmas - to find the store dark with a sign in the window reading:
"To all our loyal customers! We are closing due to economic hardship. Thank you so much for supporting our business, and hopefully we can open up again when the market gets better."

Bummer.

Backyard BBQ had attracted some decent attention in the press.  Reviews in both the Hartford Courant and the Hartford Advocate were generally positive, and by the end of summer they seemed to be fairly busy.  I guess looks aren't everything, though.  I'm sorry to see them go.




6 comments:

Leeanne said...

Ah, this sucks. I liked that place. I had seen the sign from a distance while driving by and hoped that they were just taking a few days off for Christmas.

I wonder if the location did them in, at least partially. Would they have done better on Rt. 5 or Hazard Ave., vs. this very residential area?

Alan said...

It was always difficult to start a small business and be successful. Seems now that, even if you have a good product, it's difficult. Sad.

Anonymous said...

That stinks... now why do we have a bbq place here that has horrible food and it stays open? UGH!!

Dave said...

Leeanne - I wondered about the location as well. Baco's Pizza did very well there for years but eventually moved to a much more visible location on Rte 5.

Unfortunately, commercial rents in town are pretty high, especially on Rte 5 and Route 190. There's a small space on 5 just south of the state line that looks like it would be ideal for that kind of small eatery, but the rent was something like 2 grand a month, which seems pretty outrageous.

Andrew said...

I live nowhere near this place, and I'm sad to read it closed....
A good barbecue restaurant is an asset to any community.

Meanwhile, there are 4 billion McDonald's joints doing just fine across the land. Shame.

Leeanne said...

You mean that former pizza place near Dairy Queen? That's been vacant for at least four years.