Barbecue maker seeks restaurant
Jeff Hill, a former Drake University basketball star and promoter of programs for inner-city youths, is searching for permanent home for his business, Down South Barbecue.
For 15 years, Hill has carted a grill-equipped trailer throughout Greater Des Moines, setting up his operations at festivals and farmers markets and outside dance clubs. He has been known to cook up to 10 gallons of his barbecue sauce, which is based on a recipe from his grandmother, in his apartment. Now, after hearing calls from patrons asking for a consistent location for the business, he has decided it is time to settle down.
Through the years, Hill has become a regular fixture at Valley Junction’s Farmers Market, held Thursday nights, where he said he consistently sells 400 or more of his boneless rib sandwiches. At a two-day basketball tournament in Fort Dodge this summer, Hill completely sold out of his products. At the Ankeny Summerfest in July, “we carried the crowd and kept a long line,” Hill said.
“People ask me, ‘Why don’t you have a restaurant?'” he said. “I am tired of hearing that. If Down South was in a building, the sky would be the limit.”
His ideal location, he said, would be the space now occupied by Big Daddy’s Barbecue at 1000 E. 14th St., which is owned by Ike “Big Daddy” Seymour and his wife, Arnzie. Indeed, as Seymour is preparing to give up his restaurant business and devote his time exclusively to selling his sauces, Hill said he has held talks with him about taking over the building.
“It’s a good possibility,” Seymour said. “At this time, I think everything looks good, but we haven’t come up with a price.”
Other possible sites include the neighborhood around Big Daddy’s, Valley Junction or Ankeny, Hill said. He hopes to find a building by winter.
Hill’s challenge is to find a building in the right location that he can afford. By his own admission, he doesn’t have a “booming bank account.” And the few talks that he has had with bankers have so far proved fruitless.
His chief asset is his grandmother’s 50-year-old recipe, which is “sweet and tangy,” he said. He uses it to coat everything from fresh Georgia catfish fillets and rib tips to boneless chicken and ribs. Hill brought the recipe from Alabama to Des Moines when he came here on a scholarship to play basketball at Drake, where he set the school’s still-standing record for most assists in a game, he said.
He got his start in the food business by setting up a stand at the Drake Relays in the days before Drake Stadium had concessions. In the following years, he expanded the amount of time he spent selling, setting up shop outside such dance club’s as Clive’s Drink and Hickman’s Pub and along the roadside during lunch hours. The business also provides catering services.
Down South Barbeque, which Hill predicts would have about $500,000 in annual sales if it had a fixed location, largely consists of three employees: Hill, who is president; Harry Flipping, who serves as event coordinator; and Hill’s son, Nick, who helps where needed. Other workers are occasionally hired on a short-term basis for larger jobs.
“We’ve proven that we can have a consistent product, and now it’s time to take it to the next level,” Flipping said. “It’s fine to be able to stay at a certain level, but at this time in our life, it’s important to grow into an established business.”
Outside of the barbecue business, both Hill and Flipping work at boosting opportunities for inner-city youths through sports and other activities. Hill works through an organization he founded called “We Treat Kids Right.” He also serves as an assistant basketball coach at North High School and has created a basketball camp held each summer at Drake University.
If he is able to open a restaurant, Hill said, he would donate 10 percent to 20 percent of the proceeds to helping disadvantaged children.
“My dream is to give kids the same opportunities I had,” he said.