Original BBQ ideas

Summer/Fall 2001 - Minturn, CO
Using the Cougar Ridge Café in Minturn as our first venue, we roasted our meats on a charcoal grill at Jeff Kennedy’s doublewide on the river. Not glamorous, but it was the start of Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que (MOB).

All running separate restaurants, we built a $600 pit out of Randy Quintana’s junkyard and began catering. Our first gig was serving chocolate covered strawberries and the second was pork at a Jewish wedding. It was a strong start!

Summer 2002, 2003, 2004 - The Tin Top, Edwards/Eagle-Vail, CO
In the winter of 2001-02, the catering proved successful. We bought a 40 foot gooseneck, hay trailer and converted it into a Health Department certified BBQ concession trailer. We decked it out with a tin roof and barn wood siding. With hay bales for seats and wire spools for tables, we set up shop on the street corner in Edwards, CO. We sold out of BBQ 100 days straight and continued this for two more summers on various corners. We now had a product that people craved.

Ski Season 2002-2003 - Lionshead Tin Top
In the winter of 2002 we found a carry out restaurant for sale in Lionshead Village. We bought it turn key for $7, 000. Well, turn key to an extent. There was no kitchen and only nine seats, but it worked. We smoked our meats outside all winter. At this point, we were now in business year-round. Moe’s Original Lionshead Tin Top helped to put the Western slums of Lionshead back on the map.

Vail Resorts invited MOB to sell BBQ at the base of Beaver Creek Mountain. At this point, we were selling BBQ to a vast audience at two world class ski resorts.

Winter 2005 - Lionshead Village, Vail
We retrofitted this 1, 500 sq ft restaurant and bar into a favorite dive year round. It is fully self-sufficient with a Southern Pride 300 pound Smoker which was the first wood burning appliance allowed in Vail in 11 years...thanks to the town officials being huge fans of MOB.

Summer 2005 - Eagle, CO
Located in a strip mall above a bowling alley, we designed and built this restaurant from the ground up. It was the ideal MOB layout with a completely open kitchen. A Southern Pride 700 enabled us to cook enough meats even in our busiest catering season. This was the first year round restaurant. After completing a five year lease at this location, we decided we had outgrown the strip mall. We redeveloped an old gas station on Highway 6 into our new prototype restaurant model. Taking all our ideas from the past restaurants, we built our perfect Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que that is a neighborhood roadhouse on the West side. This smart move will continue to be our training grounds and home base for Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que global takeover.

Spring 2006 - Orange Beach, AL
We partnered up with Mark “Pinto” White to test the BBQ waters of Alabama. Gazing out into the Gulf of Mexico, this is truly a country kitchen. There was inside seating for 40 and an additional 20 outside on the deck. All smoking is done on homemade barrel pits which are rolled into the attached smokehouse.

Fall 2007 - Birmingham, AL
Carving out a niche in the heart of BBQ country was a big step for MOB but brothers Kevin and Eric Witherington were convinced it would work. Along with Kevin and Eric, we purchased a renovated gas station in Vestavia and customized the kitchen to fit our needs and added an Ole Hickory 700 pound smoker to the dining room. We have proven ourselves in a very competitive market.

Spring 2008 - Birmingham Lunch Outpost
Down in the Business District, Kevin and Eric worked out a smokin’ deal and positioned Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que into the heart of the city. It was a small joint with seating for 20. There was a line out the door at lunch Monday through Friday.

Fall 2008 - Denver, CO
Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que & Bowling is the brainchild of Steve Schalk and MOB. Eight lanes of bowling, a stage for live entertainment, and a full restaurant and bar allows for lots of moving pieces to keep us all on our toes. It’s great for private parties and events too!

Winter 2009 - Daphne, AL
Situated just steps from Mobile Bay and shaded by century-old oak trees and Spanish moss, Pinto's next location quickly became a BBQ Mecca on the Eastern shore.

Spring 2009 - Hoover, AL
The location in Hoover was another one that fell in our laps. After several restaurants (including BBQ) failed there, the owners of the property came to the Witherington brothers invested minimal money and had the place up and running within a month. With a simple layout, it is efficient and easy to operate with low overhead and labor. Here, the “runner” is used to deliver food, which has proven to be a little more personable. With an additional customer point of contact, we are considering making this the norm.

Spring 2009 - Lakeview, Birmingham
After conceptualizing, developing, and operating a very successful Lakeview Oyster House in Birmingham for eight years, Kevin decided it was time for him and Eric to concentrate their efforts on BBQ instead of oysters. With a huge deck, plenty of indoor seating, and an events room, this old house in Lakeview took on the feel of another Blues Revue.

Fall 2009 - Fairhope, AL
The MOB Daphne boys open up an outpost space at downtown Fairhope, AL's Windmill Market. Folks in Fairhope can enjoy our great BBQ on Thursdays and Fridays for lunch and all day on Saturdays and Sundays.

Winter 2010 - Fort Collins, CO
Longtime friends of the Moe’s Original BBQ boys, veteran restaurateur and Chef Ted Schneider secured a great location along the pedestrian mall in the historic downtown district of Old Town. He now brings the signature, made fresh daily, Bama-style BBQ to the good people of Fort Collins.

Winer 2010 - Tuscaloosa, AL
Back to where it all began, John Moss has made a BBQ and Blues statement in downtown T-Town. With the custom woodwork and design, the restaurant and bar have the feel of the Rocky Mountains in the heart of the South. Already proficient with the bar scene in Tuscaloosa, Moss and his team took over the BBQ world at our Alma Mater, The University of Alabama!

Spring 2010 - Huntsville, AL
Mike Ellis and Chris Clowers opened Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que in Jones Valley Station in Huntsville, Alabama. This 13th location offers MOB award-winning...