Angela Tatum was a real estate agent in Eureka Springs and her husband, Randall, was an electrical contractor who had worked in Saudi Arabia for 14 years. Earlier this year they decided to follow their dream by opening a take-out BBQ restaurant called Bad to the Bone at 3200 E. Van Buren at the site of the former Hitching Post campground on US 62 and Rockhouse Rd.
Randall grew up in a Texas family that entered BBQ team competitions. He has been on cook teams for 35 years, and was part of a team that won the world championship at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
“We gave up our day jobs to start this because Randall is so good at it,” Angela said. “He really knows what he is doing, so we decided to try to make a go of it here. The name of Randall’s cook team was Bad to the Bone, so we used that name for our new restaurant.”
They spent a lot of time this past winter renovating the building, including new electrical, roofing repairs, paint and construction of a commercial kitchen. The couple did the work themselves with one assistant. They opened on March the First and have been well received by people who enjoy not just great, fast meals, but ample room for parking, even the largest of vehicles.
“The dump truck driver can come in, the semis can drive in, and we are popular with the trolley drivers and city workers,” Angela said. “People come in who can’t pull in other places. We encourage tour buses because we have the room for them to park. About 85 percent of our business is locals. People can come in, order a sandwich, sit down and eat it at our outdoor tables, or get in their vehicles and head out.”
Bad to the Bone has been getting good online reviews. A visitor from Missouri posted on Yelp, “Saw this place on our way into Eureka Springs and made a point to stop before our trip was over and man, am I glad we did! Their ribs are fantastic and their pork super smoky and tender! The KING here is their brisket, however, which might be the best brisket I’ve ever had anywhere! Yes, it’s that good! Photos cannot do it justice! They also make their own BBQ sauce, which is also incredible! We will definitely be back and I suggest you stop in as well!”
The best deal is plates ($14.50 to $19.50), which include generous portions of pulled pork, sausage and/or brisket with sides including spicy pinto beans, red potato salad, coleslaw and Texas white bread.
“We had three workers recently who shared the three-meat lunch,” Angela said. “We don’t charge extra for barbeque sauces or bread. We are really generous about things. Everything is fresh, fast, and all prepared to take out. We also sell meat by the pound. We sell whole racks of ribs. You can call ahead and we will have it ready.”
Other menu items include BBQ nachos and brisket burritos. Everything is homemade.
A popular offering is the Frito pie, which has layers of corn chips, spicy pinto beans, pulled pork, onions, jalapenos, sour cream and cilantro. That is one of five or six Tex-Mex items. And their street tacos are getting a big following. Those have pulled pork, sour cream chipotle sauce, cheddar cheese, red onions, pico de gallo and cilantro served with lime and tri-color tortilla chips.
“The street tacos, ribs and briskets are the best sellers,” Angela said. “We sell out of St. Louis style ribs every day. We have boudin, a Louisiana dish with rice, chicken and pork blended together. We keep adding things. We haven’t had chicken, but are going to be adding chicken and will have chicken enchiladas and other chicken dishes.”
Bad to the Bone is currently open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. They plan to be open later hours when they can hire additional reliable employees.
“We are having growing pains,” Angela said. “We have been through some employees already who can’t cut it. That has been difficult. We have one really good employee and hope to find more. We plan to have a drive-through in the future so people can come up to the speaker to order. Then, at some point, we will have a beer and wine license.”
What is the secret? Experience, spice, smoking the meat for at least 12 hours and putting plenty of love into the labor.
“There is a lot of love in Randall’s BBQ,” Angela said. “That is what his parents always say, ‘We put a lot of love into the BBQ.’ You have to want to do it, like what you are doing and do it well. Randall grew up raising cattle. He sold cattle at rodeos and fairs. He got trophies. He knows meat. There is experience behind this. It comes from really knowing what he is doing.”
So far, the business has grown primarily by word-of-mouth. Angela said they have been busy since day one, but now are poised to grow even more.
The couple moved here from Houston, Texas, about six years ago.
“We didn’t just walk in yesterday,” she said.