Gary Parker on Giving Back

Giving back to the community is a fundamental BBQ2U value. The restaurant gives back every week via "counter takeovers" where local non profits can gain 10% of the receipts donated. And Gary writes a lot of checks to schools, community events and endless great causes. Why does he do this and what is his perspective on small businesses giving back to the communites they serve? Listen in to find out! 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Good afternoon Facebook and YouTube communities. Thanks for joining us today. I'm here with Gary Parker, the barbecue uh boss. Barbecue to you boss. How are you, Gary?

SPEAKER_00 0:12

I'm good. We're also good.

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Good. We're coming into summer. We finally have some sunshine in the Pacific Northwest. So how's that affecting your call?

SPEAKER_00 0:22

We're in the Pacific Northwest. Just because the sun's out doesn't mean we're in summer yet. It just means it's it's bright and pretty and it's cold.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Yeah, spoken from an Austin, Austin Tonian.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Yeah, it's gonna get up over 80 before I start feeling comfortable.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Yeah, I understand. Yes, it has been sunny then not sunny, sunny then not sunny. However, weddings and events still move on, and I know you're busy. Um so we wanted to talk about the summer um so people can have things in mind to come and eat the barbecue at. Um sometimes that kind of comes out of nowhere, so I thought we'd talk about it ahead of time this time. So what's going on this summer?

SPEAKER_00 1:02

The summer. Uh let's see. So we got uh um for our events, uh we got next week, right, May 17th. Um, as many of you may have seen by now, we're sponsoring the uh the Uptown Um Beer Festival. So that ought to be fun. It's got my little logo on the on the glass and everything. It's uh it's really gonna be kind of fun. Um, and so that I'm not really doing any food over there this year, but it's kind of a story because all the years I've been over across the street, which is where my story is from where this thing happens, um, you know, I always hear the music and I always hear the stuff going on over there. Well, um last year, uh my friends that I work with with some of my philanthropy um started running that that show. And so uh in the process, I said, you know, I'd like to sponsor that show and um and be the the premium guy, you know, walk around and act all important. So um so that's what I did this year. I uh I'm the top sponsor, and um it uh it's a bit it's an event um where everybody has a really good time um because we get to sit around and and have fellowship and talk to each other and drink beer. And all these different beer vendors are there, and this little glass you get is is small, and you can run around and you can sample all these beers, and people sit there all day to do that. And then we have um you know several uh tents set up where people are doing um fundraising and various other things around all that. And so it makes for a really fun Saturday afternoon, right, to uh um to come out and just just have some good time and it's pretty sun and um and enjoy uh enjoy each other, enjoy some brew.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Nice. So is it the local microbreweries or is it who's gonna be there?

SPEAKER_00 2:48

From locals to um to the little bit bigger names will be out there. Uh and the best part about it all is when you're tired of drinking beer and you want to get some food, you can walk right across the street and you can come see us over barbecue to go, right? Yeah, because there's nothing better than barbecue to go with beer.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

So there you go. Yeah, you can always go eat there ahead of time too, but I don't know, 11 o'clock's kind of early for brisket.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Uh no, it's not. Never do it. You know, we're becoming more and more like a big time barbecue joint, right? Because we make what we make and we run out, and if you miss, well, you gotta wait till tomorrow because that's the way this works.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

But you're not gonna have barbecue at the event, they have to go to your store across the street to have barbecue, right? Okay, so that's this coming Saturday at Uptown, which is right off the Olympic exit in Gig Harbor, Washington, and also right across the street from where Gary's located by uh Ace Hardware. It's all right in there. And so uh what else is happening this summer for Barbecue Cube?

SPEAKER_00 3:52

Well, June's June's kind of gotten filled up with um you know business party. We have a lot of um a lot of customers that are um um repeat customers. We do we do events for them every year. So uh we mix those in June. We pretty much mix those in with graduation parties and um um, you know, some events, but um pretty much June is is consumed with that. Yeah, we have uh you know one of my favorites that I do every year is a large equipment. You know, you say you ever seen the big construction equipment out on the roads and stuff like that. I have a good friend that that sells that stuff. Um, and um and uh they have uh uh an open house every uh every spring. So I've got a big gig with them that that I go out and do, and I get to play with the backhoes and the and the bulldozers and all that kind of good stuff. And that's a lot of fun. I like playing with toys. And um, you know, and then uh like I said, we do just a lot of graduation parties in June because you know, school's out. Um and uh you know, we'll do a lot of delivery stuff, we'll do some some full service, not so much full service for that. Um and then as we as we get into the real summer, right? Things that are past the you know the 4th of July, um then uh that's when we get into our festivals around here, right? And so for us this year, the whole middle of um of the month is tied up with uh the summer art festival, which is a lot of fun. It's uh it's grown so big. Uh yeah, I grew downtown um a couple of years ago, so it's out at Semel Park now. And I know they probably have four or five thousand people that come to that, vendors from all over the um all over the country make this make this stop. So they come in. And you know, that's that's quite essential type of um artists come in, they set up their 10 by 10 space, you know, you can see pictures, you can see carvings, you can see jewelry, you can see all kinds of stuff. People would knickkneck food, um, you know, things that you can only buy at fairs, you know, stuff like that. Um, and it's a wonderful two days. And uh the guys and I just love doing it because the people are so much fun, right? And I swear I'm gonna start a new business for just festivals. And that new best uh that new business is going to be I'm gonna go buy the biggest trailer I can, and I'm gonna do nothing but put drink coolers in it and uh and just go park at festivals and sell beverages to people because uh they um they just never have enough, right, at the at these fairs, these state fairs and different yeah, I would agree with you.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

Yep, that's so much more fun. Everyone's always begging you to please bring back your food truck. I mean, uh begging, begging, but Gary doesn't do that.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

But we're out there we like we actually do like operating out of the out of the puppet a lot more than we like the truck. That's the reason we do it that way. And for those of seen me out there, you know that I've got everything um everything tuned up. So you know, we have our generator running and we have all the active holding. So um health department likes it because we spent the extra money to do the extra equipment, right? That that does it right. And so they really uh they really come by, it takes two minutes, they sign me off, and we we move on. But anyway, so we got the summer art festival, and that's um I think the second weekend in July. First weekend, of course, it gets consumed with fourth of July orders. Um then the next immediate week after that, um, one of my other really favorites is um the Burmerton Air Show. And last year, um we we particularly are kind of fortunate because I know the guy who runs that or puts that air show up. And so we operate um out of the VIP tent. So it's my job to take care of all the people who bought uh VIP tickets, right? So we um we hook up with our with our friends that that do the bars and stuff like that, and there's this gigantic tent that uh that sets up. It's probably a 50 by 50 tent kind of thing, right? And so I've got half of it and uh and the bars and and the that kind of thing, have the other the other half of it, and then we've got about 300, 400 people that pay for those upfront seats, um, you know, to see everything up close and personal um with that air show. And uh so we take care of them all day, and that's a two-day event, too.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

But the general public doesn't have access to your food.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

No, not in this case. Um, you know, we wish we could do two tens, but uh no, I do that, and that a lot of my but I get a lot of my friends to go out and they do the general public, and that's really a big event. We get about 8,000 people out there a day, right? Um and um it's it's huge because the Confederate Air Force is there, um, active military from both the US and Canada um are there. Um they're putting on uh they're you know all kinds of display shows, uh, teams that do, you know, that just just like the artists, there's these people that go from from airport to airport to do these air shows, and they're either acrobatic or they have some kind of unique airplane or experimental planes. Um, but there's usually about a couple hundred planes or not more of all kinds of ages and advantages out there, and so they're a blast to walk around and and go uh go play with. So if you haven't got your ticket to the Bremerton Air Show, I highly recommend you do it early, or there just won't be any tickets because they'll they'll cut it off. Um, because we have to manage, you know, there's a lot of stuff. You're out in the sun, you're on a tarmac, there's no shelter, right? And um, so we we limit how many people are out there so that we uh we can manage people properly, right? Because there's always somebody that doesn't take care of obviously at the Bramblington Airport out there across from the theater, got it.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Okay. And have you ever done the Seattle Air Show or no?

SPEAKER_00 9:38

No, no, I don't go up to Seattle for that. I mean, they got plenty of guys, you know, coming out of that. You know, matter of fact, I'm one of the few barbecue guys that goes out and does these festivals, really, from what I can tell. A lot of people will do um, you know, different types of hamburgers or hot dogs and stuff like that. But I'm really the only one that'll come out and and um and bring three or four hundred pounds of uh pulled pork and and uh and chicken and sit there and uh make sandwiches for people or um you know, and I do it as a little combo meal. We make it real affordable. Um probably one of the reasons that we we sell out so fast is because uh we're we're both popular and we're reasonable when it comes to fair food, right? Because I really don't do um I don't do price inflation over you know what I would do at the store, right? So, you know, we'll get it we'll you'll you'll get a decent meal for 10 bucks and uh you know have everything you need, right? Yeah when we do when we do these fairs. And um could we really rather we give you something substantial so your body energy stays up and um yeah we even we even have pickle juice there in case you get dehydrated. Um we can get you the we can get you electrolytes really quick. That's actually a trivia thing, right? And this actually happened to us the last time we did the um the uh um summer art fair. It's a little story because it's a beautiful day, and you you know the the northwest sun, because we're so far north in our in our position to the sun, there's not a lot of uh not a lot of ozone over the top of us, right? So when it does get shiny here and the sun does beat down on you, it can be brutal, right? Here in the northwest. Um, more southern even Texas. I will I mean Texas can be brutal, but it gets a different kind of brutal here. And uh there was this Barista in in this coffee shack, um, uh coffee trailer, you know, trying to trying to work, you know, coffee, and they didn't have any ventilation really blowing through that, you know, that trailer. And she got really, really hot. And you know, and it was later in the afternoon, and I looked over there and and uh she's on the ground behind the trailer, you know, trying to you know come out of the come out of the fatigue phase. And I looked at that and I said, Oh, that's heat frustration. And so we literally went and grabbed the uh the the pickles and we drained the juice out of the pan and I had her drink it. And within 10 minutes, she was back to normal. And a lot of people don't understand pickle juice is full of electrolytes, and so when you get dehydrated like that, you can just it doesn't take a lot of it, and you'll just pop right back up, right? But uh, but you gotta you gotta manage yourself and don't get dehydrated, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:08

That is spoken like a true southerner. I'm sorry, I've never heard of pickle juice for dehydration, but I love it and it sounds really good. It's nice and salty, it's nice and salty.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

And uh it doesn't take a lot, you don't have to gross on it, but get gross on it, but you know, it will it will keep you very hydrated and very uh energetic. You'll get rid of cramps and legs and all kinds of things.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

I love it. I have two questions for you. Are there any tickets left for the beer fest?

SPEAKER_00 12:41

There's a few. There's a few. I think they were getting pretty close to getting sold out on it. So I would definitely um um go uh you know get that. I don't know if you still have the uh the um the link to the web, but uh but yeah, you should uh if you haven't got them already, get them right. There's also a senior discount this year because it was me as a sponsor, and you know I take care of seniors. Um, I think there's a cheaper price now for over 65. Yeah, I negotiated that for for folks. Nice. So even even seniors can afford to come in and have a beer.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

Nice. And then my other question is do you have any catering spots open for the summertime for barbecue to you?

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Yeah, um, you know, July's pretty full. Um, June's pretty I got I got the onesie twosie stuff, you know. You know how everybody comes in. They started in me last year, you know, for the prime. A lot of times the these dates, these the gigs I have are a year in advance, right? Because that's just the that's just the competitive nature of catering right now. And so, but you just have to reach out to me and say, here's my date. I'm usually pretty good at getting back to you quick if um if uh that date's already taken for a full service event. Um, of course, we have a lot more that we can take on if you're doing pickup or we're doing delivery on a given day, right? Um I've got two or three guys now that'll go out and deliver in addition to myself. So um we can usually accommodate that pretty well. And it's easier to call the store, you know, get it there uh or get the get the ticket made, and um then we'll have it ready for you when you get there, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Okay, okay. And are there any meat limitations on those kind of pickup orders, or is it everything you serve?

SPEAKER_00 14:21

No, uh we'll pretty much sell everything, you know. That it's you know, we advise against things like dino bones and stuff like that, right? Um that's because it's a it's they're really they're really a novelty item, they're not really for parties and things like that, but you know, the brisket, the chicken, the pulp pork, the ribs, the turkey, you know, all those kinds of sauces, all those things go out for parties really well.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Okay, good to know. All right, so you can still call for catering then. So, what about July and August going into the fall? Late or late July.

SPEAKER_00 14:51

July's pretty full. So August going into the fall, I got lots of dates. Yeah, still that. Um, that'll be uh a lot of that stuff is again weddings, weddings, weddings, weddings by the time we get into um into the late summer because it's just so beautiful around here, and everybody's waiting for that for that um beautiful scenery, right? Yeah, so the ones we do like over at um over at the golf course um there in the coma, right, where it's where it's up on the cliff and you're overlooking the sound. That one's gorgeous. Um, there's been a lot of folks who have converted their homes and stuff out into the forest into these really immaculate um um bed and breakfast wedding venues. And uh we're on their list to do a lot of those. Um, and uh and so you know we're very used to setting up out there for those things, right? Um we have things like the um the athletic team, gymnastic teams, baseball teams, football teams, um, baseball teams, all these things um that as we get into August, their season is over. And so there's a lot of parties that uh that we do we do for them. Right. And so then you know, then we get into October, of course, school begins at at memorial, uh Memorial Day, and um, you know, then you know there's the big the big sigh of relief, you know. We get back into the into the into the school year, so you know, daytime stuff slows down a lot, dinner picks back up, that kind of thing. Um, and um yeah, and then um then we go into the uh holiday season after October. Oh, we have Oktoberfest, uh not Octoberfest, but uh yeah, it's the Penman Penman Parks um I'm saying that wrong. Um not Oktoberfest, but uh Scarecrow Festival. Scarecrow Festival, that's what I'm trying to think of. It's right there the week or so before. And uh that's a lot of fun because everybody gets to build their own life-size um pumpkin head thing, right? And there's a big competition for it, and that's another place where we go out and we just do the barbecue to you pop-up, right? And um, and sit there and um sell and sell and sell because everybody loves that that full pork or chicken burger, right? Or sandwich and chips and stuff, and and play the games that they have out there. They had their own version of uh pumpkin chunking last year with the with the little bitty ones, right? And I thought that was a blast to watch that go down. And yeah, we were right there close to that. And we usually, in addition to selling up there, we usually sponsor the stage. So um local area bands are there playing, and you know, it's got our logos and stuff all around it. So that's kind of a fun nice.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

So busy with weddings, a few events coming into the fall, and then what else is what's you told me that most of the philanthropy is the regular stuff, so receipts, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

So you know, probably the stuff you guys don't see all the time, because you guys know about the the weekly bingo, you know about the end of the month movies, we're trying to maintain that through all the um, you know, through this difficult economy that we have here in Washington. Um, those who don't live here in Washington don't track all that stuff, but you know, things are getting a little tighter here in Washington, and so we have to be a little more diligent. But um, some of the things we're doing the um um we're partnering with Pymet Parks and we're doing the summer lunch program. This is a program that uh that makes um uh check lunches um for kids that are not in school, and they drive around to different places, either out on the quay or um various other places within the donate within the the scope of Pymmet Parks and um and you know get these lunches out to these kids that otherwise would you know they would get them during school year, they'd get them at school. But you know, parents are out working, they're playing, there's no way to give them food. So we do this. So I buy basically all the I pay for all the lunches on that as the as a philanthropy thing. Um, and then Kiwanis actually makes the lunch, and then uh Pimet delivers the lunch. So it's an it's an example of a business to municipality um cooperation, right? That gets a really cool thing done. So that's fun. Um we also are sponsoring uh senior trips this year. So we've already done we've already done one. Um we sponsored the uh the trip out to the tulips, right? So this is where we lease a bus, and Pen kind of helps be partners with me on it, and they do the driving and and all that kind of stuff, right? And the coordination of the seniors and things, but um, they'll get a 15 or 20 passenger bus and um and they'll go out and do things. And so we sponsor those things in order to give um seniors something other to do other than stick around in the house, right? We want them to have fun, so it's a little bit up-leveled from the um from the stuff we do for bingo and in movies and things like that. It's a little bit more exciting. Um and um and so we you know, we're maintaining uh you know those things, you know, throughout the throughout the summer and rest of this year.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

So the bingo and movies and all that have not gone away. What's the what's the movie coming up?

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Uh uh the movie this this uh month is um the brand's pink and do um Mission Impossible Final Reconner. It comes out on May 23rd, and the last Friday of the month is May 30th. And so um so we're gonna watch one of the brand new ones this time. Scares me, scares me crazy because I can't preview it, right? And you would be interesting when you uh when you do movies, particularly for seniors, and a lot of these seniors are older seniors. Um little things like high energy adrenaline-driven movies, right? Sometimes it doesn't settle well with um with folks that aren't you aren't used to having high adrenaline anymore, right? And uh so we I usually try to screen things for interpretary scenery or um or high energy, but yeah, we figure we'd go for it.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

Oh my gosh, I've never seen Tom Cruise in something that isn't a little bit edgier seat. That'll be fun. Well, very cool. So is there anything else going on that you want to share about before we wrap up? Um see you at the beer fest this weekend.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Yep, see him at the beer fest. Um, I'd love to talk to people. I'll be walking around. I'm gonna be in my guard, you'll find the hat, probably be up on the stage saying hi to people at some point. And um, but yeah, uh, I just invite you to come out, let's say hi, talk barbecue. It's that time of year where we can sit around the table, we can share a beer together, we'll talk about how to cook a brisket, how to do the pulled pork, how to do the chicken. Um, as you found out in um in Thanksgiving Thanksgiving time, you know, my way of cooking poultry is uh is a way that really keeps the moisture in it. And even though everybody will tell me, no, you're wrong, you shouldn't do it that way. And then they do it and they go, huh, that worked out pretty damn good.

SPEAKER_01 21:42

Oh, yeah. You should definitely listen to Gary about how he cooks turkey. It was a family controversy for me this year because it was against the grain, but it works. Yep. Well, good. It sounds like you're gonna give out free barbecue advice and you'd be hanging out, drinking beer, and have time to sit around and chat. So that's unusual. So So the busy guy. Um all right. Well we will be talking to you next month and keeping track of these events as they happen, trying to give people a heads up so they can come and enjoy a barbecue. So thanks, Gary.

SPEAKER_00 22:11

Come and see me. Come and see me at these events. It's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

Yep, for sure. Thanks.