Local Links: Grandpa’s Southern BBQ
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - You don't often find Southern barbecue in Eastern Idaho, so I was surprised when I stumbled upon Grandpa's Southern BBQ in Idaho Falls.
It's a quaint restaurant attached to the Motel West on W. Broadway St. As soon as you walk in, there no mistaking the smell of smoked wood barbecue.
"Southern BBQ has it's own aroma. It has it's own calling if you will," says owner Lloyd Westbrook.
In fact, it was that same aroma that Westbrook says brought people from all over the country to his first location in Arco, Idaho 25 years ago.
"It took me two years to remodel the little house that we literally opened as our first restaurant," he said. "We were located a few miles from the airport and we once had a group of bikers come all the way over just because of that barbecue smell."
Westbrook and his wife, Loretta, make everything from scratch.
"It's a process of mixing rubs, making sauces and working with different types of meats," he said. "... and then you have to have a little heart in it."
You can taste a little bit of that heart in Loretta's pies, which she was hesitant to bake at first.
"I would cry because I couldn't get things to look perfect," she said. "I couldn't get it to look like it came out of the store and now I don't want it to look like it came out of the store."
Lloyd and Loretta say they want people to feel like their home when they step foot inside their restaurant because that's the heart of Southern cooking and is the reason they've settled in eastern Idaho.
"If you're not doing what you're doing with love and with a passion... what's the purpose," said Loretta.
To find out more about Grandpa's Southern BBQ click here.
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