ENTERTAINMENT

Northwest Springfield is a barbecue desert no more

Gregory J. Holman
GHOLMAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM
Bubba's BBQ owner Brandon Grame recently opened his own restaurant in northwest Springfield after 18 years in the barbecue business.

Brandon Grame put his new restaurant, Bubba's BBQ, in northwest Springfield because there was nothing else like it nearby.

A country diner? Right across the street. Fast food? Plenty of options. A Price Cutter with a Starbucks inside? Just a stoplight away.

But there was no barbecue spot. According to Google search results, Grame's 8-week-old store — near the intersection of West Bypass and Chestnut Expressway — is one of just two Springfield barbecue restaurants west of Kansas Expressway.

"It was a natural fit," said Grame. Not only does he live a few blocks from Bubba's, but he also spent 18 years as a manager with Buckingham's, a barbecue restaurant with five Springfield-area locations. Prior to his stint there, Grame moved to Springfield from Kansas City so he could attend Missouri State University.

Bubba's serves a range of barbecued meats: pulled pork, smoked sausage, beef brisket, pit ham, smoked turkey, pulled chicken, baby back ribs and burnt ends.

He prides himself on not running out of smoked meats. "I don't run out," Grame said. "It's about putting the work in. Barbecue is a long process, so I'm here early and leave late."

A Bubba's sandwich is $5.99; two-meat platters are $12.99. Bottled beer and Copper Run whiskey and moonshine are also on the menu.

Though Grame makes infused spirits at Bubba's (apple pie moonshine, cinnamon whiskey and others), he said he "tried not to make the place a bar."

He wants to make Bubba's a family-friendly place (with a kids' menu) where guests might also grab a beer and watch a game on one of the TVs scattered around the dining room.

Grame would not reveal the cost of setting up Bubba's but said that he did the infill construction himself, with help from family. It's decorated with wood and corrugated metal reclaimed from an Amish barn. In one corner, a photo shows about 70 family members who came down from Kansas City for Bubba's opening in early April.

Business is going well, said Grame. The location near I-44 and the Springfield-Branson National Airport, and Yelp reviews, have been helpful.

"I might be a bit ahead of the curve," he said, "but I think a lot more business is coming in to this side of town. I hope so."

Want to Go?
Bubba BBQ, bubbasozarkbbq.com
504 N. West Bypass, 417-368-0039
Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.