How online ordering will change Texas barbecue
The coronavirus pandemic is certainly an inflection point for Texas barbecue and will have lasting effects on both business operations and traditions. The good news is that most of these changes, as I see them, will be positive.
For instance, one genie that’s not going back in the bottle is online ordering. In the early days of the pandemic (barely two months ago!) when the stay-at-home orders were issued, restaurants were required to transition to curbside service, with orders placed and paid for online. The speed with which many pitmasters transitioned from meat cookers to IT specialists in setting up their online ordering systems was impressive.
CorkScrew BBQ, Pinkerton’s Barbecue, Killen’s Barbecue and Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue, to name a few, transitioned to mostly online orders meant for pickup. Remarkably, customers were happy to place orders this way, and many of these barbecue joints experienced only a small decrease in daily revenue.
This adoption of online ordering will have several repercussions.
Standing in line for an hour or more to get barbecue has been one of the most celebrated and disparaged aspects of the craftbarbecue revolution. Some see it as a rite of passage and communal way to experience the tradition of Texas barbecue. Others see it as a marketing ploy to drum up business.
The good news for barbecueline adherents is that online ordering will not be an extinction-level event for this beloved tradition. Not everyone will have the desire, ability or time to order online, so there will always be a line to contend with at the most popular spots.
For those who are not as enamored of barbecue lines, online pre-orders are a godsend. Though I’m a big fan of commiserating with fellow barbecue fans while queuing up, the frequency with which I eat barbecue means I don’t always have time to wait.
I recently decided to try out the online ordering system at Pinkerton’s Barbecue. Two hours before arrival, I logged into the website and placed an order for the usual Texas trinity of brisket (moist, lean or mixed), pork ribs (wet or dry) and sausage (regular or jalapeño). Side dishes and condiments were also specified. A credit card was entered, and the entire process took no more than a few minutes.
I showed up at the appointed time and approached the front of the restaurant. The dining room was still closed so there was a long table set up in the covered entryway outside. Trays and bags were lined up with a name and time stamped on them. A staff member in charge of the pickup table was nearby if assistance was necessary.
My order was on the table. I gathered it and headed to the outdoor patio where I unpacked it and ate with friends among socially distanced picnic tables. The time from parking to eating was all of five minutes. And the barbecue was as exemplary as always. Obviously, there is also the option of a true takeaway — I could just as easily have picked up the order and taken it home.
Once dining rooms return to full capacity, there will undoubtedly be a need to establish preordering etiquette when it comes to dining in. For instance, if you order for pickup at a particular time, can you claim a table inside immediately after picking it up, in effect leapfrogging those customers who have been waiting in line and who expect to get a table, too? Will pre-ordering for dine-in even be an option? In this case, it in effect becomes a reservation system by another name.
For those restaurants with large outdoor patios, the problem is less of a concern. Like my experience at Pinkerton’s, picking up a pre-order and heading for an outdoor picnic table seems like fair game.
As someone who patronizes a lot of barbecue joints on a regular basis, online ordering is a game-changer. Fortunately, I will always have the option to experience the barbecue-line tradition when schedule and convenience allows.