NIAGARA FALLS — A barbecue eatery’s expansion from one end of Niagara County to the other has been almost eight years in the making.
That journey first began in 2016 with two pairs of tongs, smoked clams and nachos topped with pulled pork at what would become Parker’s Pit on Ridge Road in Middleport.
“My wife decided to sign me up for a barbecue cook-off,” co-owner and founder Mark Bruning recalled. “And then everybody wanted to know where a restaurant was.”
While that restaurant didn’t come right away, it didn’t take long for Bruning, his wife, Candace and their children to “move up” to a trailer with an outdoor dining set up serving barbecue in various parking lots and seasonal events throughout the county.
Now, Parker’s Pit will be opening their first formal brick and mortar location, 10158 Niagara Falls Blvd.
“(Now) we’re on this side of the county plus we’re already on the other side of the county and my trailers will be in the middle,” Mark said.
Even though the Brunings’ business has been steadily growing their 2016, it wasn’t until a few months ago that they believed having a brick-and-mortar restaurant was a possibility.
“If you asked me two years ago about a sit down restaurant, I would’ve told you, ‘no,’ ” he said.
Unlike several eateries, the family recalled that due to their predominately take-out business, they were able to grow during the Covid-19 pandemic, which led them to buying a second, larger trailer in 2021 and convert the breezeway between their house and garage in Middleport into a certified kitchen.
However, when the former Como at the Airport site became available, Mark said they decided to “kick the tires” on brick-and-mortar expansion.
“We looked into it and everything seemed to work out,” he said.
After discussing a potential expansion, the family, including their son Parker were excited on the prospects of opening at a new location.
“When I found out about this, I was very shocked,” Parker said. “It’s the start of a big adventure and hopefully a big career for me, because (my dad) tells me all the time he’s building me an empire.”
“Parker’s biggest goal is to do this,” Candace added.
Extending that sense of family to their customers has also been a focal point of their business.
“So when customers were coming in, we wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, we got a customer’ we’d say oh, we got company, because they’re literally coming to our house. When you come through our door, you’re barbecue family,” Mark said.
The family is currently working to get the restaurant space up and running to host both dine-in and takeout operations. Mark said they anticipate to open the doors to customers sometime in March.