The food scene in Delaware got a little more meat on the bone last month as Red Door BBQ Delaware opened its door to the community after a delay in construction caused by the pandemic. Located at 81 Lake St., the barbecue joint began serving food on June 26 and features all the staples, including beef brisket, ribs, pulled pork, chicken and smoked sausage.
Jimmie Green, the head chef and owner of Red Door BBQ Delaware, said his restaurant doesn’t focus on emulating any specific region of barbecue, such as the often-publicized Texas, Memphis, or Carolina flavors. Instead, he said the restaurant is focused only on making the best local barbecue possible.
“That’s what we do, we make Delaware, Ohio barbecue, and we make scratch-made barbecue,” Green said. “We’re scratch-making our macaroni and cheese, scratch-making our own sauce. We’re making our own beans, and we make scratch-made bread pudding.”
Without sharing too many secrets about his house barbecue sauce, Green said the base for the sauce is tomato, which he added is common for a northern barbecue sauce.
Green said he first began smoking meat in 1999. Like so many, his introduction to grilling and smoking meats began honestly, by watching his father do it. Green’s father, Henry Banks, owned Banks Farm Market, which existed at the corner of Liberty and London roads before closing. The market specialized in produce and barbecue, and in 1999, Green took over the market for his parents.
After closing the market, Green said he took home a “Southern Pride” smoker and a food trailer, which served as the base for his own venture into the catering and concession business when he began the “Jimmie G’s BBQ” food truck that same year. Like his introduction to smoking meats, the improvements he saw in his dishes also came rather naturally as he and his friends routinely got together to grill out.
“Years ago, when the Food Channel hit the scene, they had ‘Grilling and Chilling,’” Green joked. “My friends and I, that’s what we used to do. And I’m a bodybuilder, so I like to eat, and I like to eat clean food. The only way to really do that is to cook yourself. So, we started grilling out together, and each weekend, we got a little better. And then we started marinating our meats, planning for that weekend’s cookout, and it just grew from there.”
Despite his focus shifting to the newly-opened restaurant, Green said the 24-foot food truck, complete with a full kitchen, will not go away. Instead, he said it will serve as his fair trailer, as well as for any other events happening in the community once they begin again. Prior to the restaurant opening, Green operated the food truck out of the Food Truck Depot, which opened last summer at 59 Potter St.
“We encourage the community to come in and try some Delaware, Ohio barbecue,” Green said. “I am a veteran, this is a veteran-owned business. And it’s a minority-owned business. If they haven’t tried our food, this is an opportunity to do so year-round. In the past, our food truck was seasonal. Now, it’s available all months of the year.”
Currently, Red Door BBQ Delaware is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and from 12-8 p.m. on Saturdays. To contact the restaurant, call 740-404-4550.
