WAUKESHA, WI—A Waukesha resident's love of smoked meat led to a thriving business idea.
Benet's BBQ owner Andrae Dukes said he and his wife, Traci Dukes, a registered nurse, wanted to market their barbecue sauce.
Dukes quickly concluded that corn chips and pretzel sticks were not useful for taste-testing sauces.
"That didn't make sense to me," Dukes said. "The corn chip has its own flavor and distorts the flavor of the barbecue sauce."
What barbecue sauce tasted good on was meat. Giving out free samples of meat became too costly, so Dukes said he became hooked on smoking meat a while back. He decided to incorporate it into his business.
"I thought, 'How can we turn this around and make a profit from it?'" Dukes said.
Six years ago, Andrae and Traci traveled to Kentucky to find a smoker to launch their business.
"At first it was a pup tent and pull-behind smoker," he said.
To sell more barbecue, he had to jump through hurdles such as getting licenses and permit approvals.
"At the time I only had a Suburban and had a refrigerator in the back of it," he said. "There was no room."
He and his wife belong to Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Waukesha. The church allowed them to set up a pop-up tent in the parking lot. Pretty soon the couple ran out of room and had to store equipment in the church.
"I had to wheel it in and wheel it out every morning and set up that way," Dukes said.
The couple couldn't do business in the winter, when they cater and do private parties. They thought about what to do next and bought a trailer in 2020.
Then the pandemic hit.
The food truck industry thrived during the pandemic. "The people in food trucks have stepped up their game as far as what they are offering now," he said.
Customers have asked when he will open up a restaurant. The couple has decided whether that's the next step.
There Is A Difference
Benet's BBQ serves up St. Louis style ribs, baby back ribs, beef brisket, rib tips and pulled pork.
The difference between barbecue and smoking involves time, Dukes said.
"If you go to a taco food truck, they are working off a flat-top griddle, so it is a quick turnaround for the kind of meat they are putting out," he said.
Smoking briskets and pulled pork is a process that can't be rushed: It takes about 10 hours, he added. Dukes uses a special rub to season the meat.
"My refrigerator stays empty because I'm cooking so much," he said.
Dukes attributes his success to his faith in God — and a loyal customer base. He credits social media as a driving force behind the latter. He plans to keep on smoking meat while he is physically able to and still enjoys it.
For more information on when and where to find Benet's BBQ, visit them on Facebook .
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