New restaurant alert: Titusville barbecue joint adds coastal flair to smoked meats
Walk into BB Rad's Coastal BBQ in Titusville, and the first thing you notice is the attitude.
The employees working the row of steaming trays of meat are cheerful. The guy tending the dining room and greeting everyone is cheerful. Heck, even the customers waiting in line are cheerful.
It's contagious. It's hard not to be happy standing in a sunny room filled with the aroma of wood smoke and brisket.
That's by design, said Brad Russell, who opened the barbecue joint on June 17 with a team that includes general manager Robert Tadlock and culinary manager Joshua Goodrich.
"You won't come on our line at lunchtime and not be welcomed," Goodrich said.
Russell is lead pastor at the Grove Church in Titusville, and while BB Rad's is a private business and isn't associated with the church, both are run with the same values. A tenet painted across one wall reminds guests and staff of that: "We exist to honor God + impact our community with radical generosity, integrity + an atmosphere of excellence."
Like the Chik-fil-A and 4Rivers Smokehouse chains, BB Rad's is closed on Sundays.
"We value that day," Russell said. Staff members who attend a service at a house of worship of their choice on Sundays can add an hour to their time cards.
No tipping, please
The second thing you'll notice, after making protein and side selections, is what's missing from the receipt. Tipping is not an option.
"I have six kids," Russell said. When his family goes out to eat, the tip is as much as another meal.
"We're taking care of our employees," he said. "We're going to be generous to our team. Our prices are competitive, but when you take away the tip ..."
Some people are adamant about leaving something. They'll drop a few dollars on the table before leaving. When that happens, the money goes into a jar to be used for team parties.
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Fast, casual, affordable
BB Rad's is fast-casual. Stand in line. Make your selections. Pay. Then grab your tray and find a seat. Russell wants get people through the line and eating quickly. It's an easy place to grab a quick lunch or dinner to take home.
He also wants it to be high-quality food at affordable prices. Sandwiches, served with one side, cost between $9.49 and $12.99. A full rack of St. Louis-style ribs with two sides goes for $28.99. A kids meal with a drink and a small Dole Whip is $6.99.
The fast-casual menu includes Texas-style barbecue favorites, such as beef brisket (fatty or lean), pulled pork, smoked turkey and burnt ends. The coastal flavor comes in the form of Coastal Slaw with mangoes, lemon pepper on the chicken and Pineapple Dole Whip served in a collectible BB Rad's cup.
The journey to BB Rad's
BB Rad's has been a three-year journey.
Russell didn't start out wanting to open a restaurant. He and wife Shelly started the Grove Church in 2011, and it has since grown to a congregation of 2,000. The church now has a team of pastors and other leaders, leaving the Russells with time to try something new.
"We wanted to start a business that could impact our community," Russell said. "We decided, 'What if we started a restaurant that would be a blessing to our community?'"
He spent the first year picking the brains of other restaurant owners. He talked with Joe Penovich, who owns Grills Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar, and Chris Coneen, owner of Pizza Gallery & Grill and 28 North Gastropub. Both Brevard restaurateurs speak openly about their Christian values. He also talked managers at 4 Rivers Smokehouse, a barbecue chain that started in Winter Park.
"They were instrumental in helping us come up with the plan," Russell said.
The second year was spent talking with investors and finding people who believed in the concept.
Renovating the building took up the third year.
"We felt like this was the location," Russell said of the building on South Washington Avenue where Riverside Drive angles off as toward downtown. The building, which started as a Howard Johnson's, went on to house multiple restaurants, including a Vietnamese place, a pizza parlor, a Mexican restaurant and a burger joint.
Longtime Titusville residents like to come in and share memories of what it was before.
"I love that we took something old that has a story and made it new again," said Tadlock.
The result
In its new iteration, the restaurant has big windows and happy, coastal colors. Russell grew up in Titusville surfing and skateboarding, so he wanted the restaurant to have a rad vibe. Skateboards cover some walls. Bright, tropical paintings cover others. A teal and orange color theme makes it feel very Florida.
The theme carries through to the menu, which has sandwiches with names like Big Kahuna, pulled pork topped with Coastal Slaw and barbecue sauce, and Hang 5, puled pork, corn pudding, Coastal Slaw and red onions. There's even a Poser, a plant-based barbecue sandwich.
Goodrich is proud of the food coming out of the BB Rad's kitchen and the staff that prepares it. That staff is a mix of highly skilled veterans and teenagers who are excited about their work.
Goodrich spent much of his career working in Darden restaurants, and he uses that experience to train the team in food service and customer service.
Details are important, he said, from how the dining room is maintained to how customers are greeted to how the food is prepared.
The brisket takes more than 16 hours to prepare, and the pork is pulled by hand, not chopped.
The Officer pulled pork sandwich uses a fresh glazed doughnut from nearby Kim's Donut & Deli as a bun.
Anything that doesn't meet BB Rad's standards isn't served.
Generosity, integrity, excellence
So far, the community response has been positive. The dining room fills up at lunchtime, and by 4:30 p.m., the dinner crowd starts filtering in. Russell, Tadlock and Goodrich stop by a few tables and chat with guests, asking how they like their food. Smiles abound in the dining room.
"If a guest is having a crappy day, we want to change that," Russell said. "This is a happy place."
BB Rad's Coastal BBQ is at 1817 S. Washington Ave., Titusville. Call 321-567-4677 or visit bbrads.com. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Reach her at sleonard@floridatoday.com. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Titusville BBQ spot strives for great food and a friendly atmosphere
