BUSINESS PROFILE:
Name: Joseph Bodette
Business: Bodette’s Barbeque
Title: Owner/Operator/Pitmaster
Years in Business: 1
Q: Can you briefly describe your business?
A: Bodette’s Barbecue is the area’s only authentic barbecue restaurant. We are located on Montcalm Street right next to beautiful Bicentennial Park and the Heritage Museum. The barbecue is owned and operated by Joe Bodette, who’s barbecue experience goes back over 35 years. We specialize in smoking our barbecue the time honored way, low and slow in outdoor smokers using only wood and charcoal. The resulting flavor and tenderness is something generally only found in the south, where barbecue is king. We offer full service dining inside or outside on the deck (seasonally) as well as take out. We offer home made side dishes to accompany our barbecue, and our barbecue sauces are also home made. We have beer and wine available to enjoy with your meal as well. Bodette’s Barbecue also offers on site catering for any occasion, or Party Packs to conveniently feed a crowd.
Q: What is your product or service specialty?
A: Our purpose is to offer authentic, slow smoked barbecue to our community. We offer Pulled Pork Shoulder, Beef Brisket, Baby Back Ribs, and Chicken as well as a variety of other menu items. Our meats are smoked using only our own dry rub as seasoning. Our home made sauces are available on the side, although many folks prefer their barbecue without, and enjoy the wonderful smokey flavor by itself. Bodette’s is also a full service caterer available for weddings, reunions, graduations or any occasion. We have catered dozens of events with 100% client satisfaction. We also specialize in pig roasts! And for those who are simply looking to feed their guests our authentic barbecue without the full setup, We have our meats available by the pound and our side dishes available by the pan, for pick up or delivery.
Q: How did your business get started?
A: Bodette’s Barbecue is our second restaurant venture. We previously had owned and operated a family dining restaurant in Crown Point. It was during that time, in 2009, when the original Lake Champlain Bridge was suddenly closed and we found ourselves cut off from a large share of our customer base. In order to make up for lost business, we decided to diversify and added catering to our restaurant operation. Drawing on my many years experience barbecuing for our family gatherings on the farm, We opted to specialize in catering barbecues. In 2012 my wife Cindy and I leased out our restaurant and went on to other careers. After a couple years, the restaurant bug bit me again and I began investigating opening a barbecue restaurant and catering operation in the area. With a lotta luck and a lotta support, we purchased our building, made the necessary modifications and opened in May of 2015.
Q: Why do you recommend people do business with you?
A: We offer a totally different flavor from what is otherwise found in the area. If you’re a true barbecue fan, you’ll find our product equal to any you’ve tasted in the south. That’s not just our opinion, but the opinion of the many visitors we get who hail from barbecue country. If you’re interested in our catering services, you’ll find us easy and accommodating to work with. We do whatever we can to make your event fun and memorable.
Q: What makes you the most proud of your business?
A: The approval we get from true barbecue enthusiasts. Barbecue fans are some of the most critical diners in existence, especially those who grew up in the barbecue regions of the south. So when they give you the “thumbs up”, you know you’re doing something right.
Q: What do you most want people to know about you?
A: Both my wife Cindy and I are very community minded people, and have always served our communities in a number of ways. We believe we have a responsibility to serve our neighbors and community, and give back as best we can.
Q. What is your key to success?
A. There are several. First, a passion for my craft. Second, plain old hard work. Third, a willingness to listen to our customers, and make changes accordingly. Finally, the support of family, the community, and our hard working employees.
Complete the following sentence: A really great day for our company is when…
A. “Our patrons are happy, our employees are satisfied with a job well done, and there’s a couple bucks in the cash register!”
Visit Bodette’s Barbeque on Montcalm Street in Ticonderoga, and read more about local business owners in our TACC Member Spotlight articles!