SOUL SOURCE
The Hot Mess serves South Carolina-style barbecue, Southern sides
Lightly smoked meats paired with Southern sides of collard greens and fried okra are a few things The Hot Mess offers.
The restaurant, on Lomas NE west of Tramway, specializes in South Carolina-style barbecue.
“We wanted to bring a good soul food to the great state of New Mexico, preferably Albuquerque,” co-owner Alzander Zanwé Staley Sr. said. “… A lot of it is what you use in your seasoning, your rub and the way it’s cooked (barbecue). We use a lot of apple wood, cherry wood, a certain amount of smoke. We don’t try to do a lot of smoke.”
After they meats are smoked, they are wrapped in aluminum foil and left to cook to the appropriate temperature. The Hot Mess’ menu includes ribs, brisket, pulled pork and turkey legs. Sides include baked macaroni and cheese, fried okra, coleslaw, barbecued baked beans, collard greens, potato salad and crispy or extra crispy fries.
“South Carolina is really known for doing the whole pig, the whole hog, things of that nature,” Staley said. “That’s very popular, but a lot of it is the type of rub that we use, just kind of how we do it. When you look at barbecue, it’s pretty much the same. Everybody puts it on a smoker. People wrap their meat, whether they’re in Texas or Oklahoma or whatever, but a lot of it is going to be what type of rub that is.”
Another signature of South Carolina barbecue is the sauce, as well as the type of wood used to smoke the meat.
“You have a lot of the vinegary sauces that you find in South Carolina,” Staley Sr. said. “In South Carolina, you’re going to probably smoke with pecan-hickory; it is very popular. Where in Texas or Oklahoma, you’re going to probably do more of a mesquite-type wood, and that’s going to give you a different flavor, a different taste. What kind of separates the barbecue from the different areas is the type of wood that you’re going to use.”
South Carolina cuisine is near and dear to the heart of Staley and co-owner Larry M. Jenkins, who are both from South Carolina.
The Hot Mess has been recognized by Yelp! as a Black-owned business, which the owners take great pride in. The want to inspire and motivate young Black men and women as well as other minorities to open their own businesses.
“We have people who come and tell us they’re glad we’re there because we’re a Black-owned business,” Staley said. “Ironically, 40 years ago we probably couldn’t be in that community and build a Black-owned business. One, they probably wouldn’t let us in. They probably wouldn’t even rented to us. So for us to be where we are now, a lot of times when you’re a Black-owned business, you want to feel comfortable in your own neighborhood, that’s what you do, and we’re saying that we feel very comfortable. Not that we don’t want to be in our own community, but we felt like this is 2020. Anybody should be able to open up a successful business anywhere. You should always respect where you’re putting a business, and that’s why we put a lot into it so that’s why we get the compliments from people.”
Jenkins has a background in construction and has worked with some of the best restaurants in Santa Fe over the past 20 years. Staley spent 25 years in corporate America, including 6½ years in the financial industry. They partnered with Staley son, Alzander Zanwé Staley II, who does roofing consulting. The three rolled up their sleeves and got to work on the interior of the Lomas location. Another location, for takeout only, will open at Wyoming and Zuni SE near Kirtland Air Force Base. Before it can open, a few additional fixtures need to be installed to meet health inspection requirements. The owners are hoping to open by early October.
“Our goal is to have multiple locations and really put our brand out there,” Staley Sr. said. “If you look at the location on Wyoming, it’s going to look exactly like the one on Lomas. That’s our brand.”