05.13.2008
Smokehouse touts food is worth the wait
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Curtis Hepler has brought his Bar-B-Que from Harmony, to Statesville. CD’s Smokehouse is located on East Broad Street, in the location formerly occupied by Bojangle’s. Bruce Matlock photo |
Barbecue, flounder, chicken tenders and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches aren’t items you typically find grouped together on a restaurant menu.
However, this assortment of items are on CD’s Smokehouse’s slow-cook menu at its new location on Broad Street.
“I could feed the whole family,” restaurant owner Curtis Hepler said. “I know how to cook everything, but I want to cook barbecue.”
Three weeks after the Statesville restaurant opened, customers are still getting used to the idea of having to wait seven minutes for a hamburger or a barbecue plate, he said.
“I think that is worth something,” Hepler explained. “It’s like eating on your back porch.”
He opened his original location in Harmony four years ago.
Opening a second location, where his customers could sit down and enjoy themselves, made sense, Helper said.
“I could only go so far with what I had,” he said.
Named in honor of his sons Cale and Drew, the restaurant has built a strong clientele in North Iredell, he said.
Hepler said he understands people are used to fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King, which have an assembly line system for food orders.
He could cook faster, but doesn’t want the food to lose its freshness.
“I’m just not a fast-food place,” he said.
Some people don’t mind the wait though.
John and Dorothy Mayberry stopped in Monday afternoon for lunch.
“I’m a hot dog or barbecue kind of guy,” John said after finishing his meal. “It’s good food.”
Since Hepler kept the Harmony takeout location open, he splits his time between the two locations and is working with a new staff.
It has taken some adjustment for his new staff members to convert to his way of thinking, he said.
“Most of my recipes are in my head,” he said. “It’s just the way I learned to cook. It gets a little hectic when you have to be in two places at the same time.”
For example, some people want to make the barbecue a little more mustard-heavy than he likes it. Also, he likes the potatoes in the potato salad to be soft.
Hepler said he has a good feeling he will eventually win people over with his slow-cooked barbecue.
“I’ve got to give it time,” he said. “I’ve got to give them time to get used to it.”