Quirky Matlacha barbecue joint able to remain 'open for now'
Update: Owner John Petrus says enough money has been raised to keep That BBQ Place on Matlacha "open for now." More money will be needed to help him reach season. Limited hours are 4-10 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; and bar only Wednesday.
Unless enough money can be raised, That BBQ Place on Matlacha is closed for good as of Saturday, Sept. 2.
“I’m out of money,” owner John Petrus said Friday. “I tried like hell to raise some money, but it kept falling through.”
The quirky and colorful barbecue joint at 4590 Pine Island Road originally opened Dec. 11, 2021. Closing for five months after Hurricane Ian, it reopened in March.
“I really tried but there’s just not enough business now,” Petrus said, who also cited landlord issues as another reason for the closure. “It’s just not working. Off-season, there’s the same food costs, electric bill, beer cost. But you’re selling less food, so little by little you fall further and further behind.”
Three hours after making his original Facebook post about closing, Petrus again took to social media, stating he was trying to raise funds to make it to season. He's also in the "process of fighting an eviction."
A gofundme — "Help Matlacha Alive! Help Save That BBQ Place!" — has been started with a goal of $50,000. Petrus said if $5,000 can be raised, he might be able to reopen, "for now anyway."
He said a lot of people turned out Friday night after hearing it was the last day.
"We sold most of our food, about 90 percent, in five hours," said Petrus, who drove tour buses, limos and the like for 20 years before going into the restaurant business. "It was non-stop since we opened at 4. I couldn't get a minute to myself today."
The “cozy little dive” began as a fisherman’s hut in the 1950s, then became a doctor’s office, and more recently, the Burger Hut and Bella’s Pizza until Petrus came in.
It was severely damaged in Ian and floodwater from Hurricane Idalia crept up to the back but didn’t enter the building.
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For months after Ian, Petrus fed the community for free from a tent in front of the restaurant.
“I had an overwhelming urge to cook,” Petrus said at the time. “I didn’t give a thought about rebuilding. People needed to eat.
"I was serving a few hundred a day at one point.”
Eventually the need dwindled and Petrus managed to get That BBQ Place back open, serving his Central Texas-style barbecue — “salt, pepper, smoked low and slow over oak wood shipped in from Tampa.”
But business was slow overall despite good crowds showing up for his live music events.
“You don’t have to spend money to help a small business,” said Petrus, whose Ian-damaged home has still not been repaired. “If you see a post, share it. It could reach hundreds, thousands if you just share and promote it. It could help keep people in business longer.”
Even with the strong final turnout and the gofundme growing, Petrus doesn't know what the near future holds.
“I guess I’ll clean this place out, sell the equipment," he said. "I don’t have a plan to get through today and that’s all I can do.”
Robyn George is a food and dining writer for The Fort Myers News-Press. Send news to rhgeorge@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: 'I really tried': That BBQ Place closes on Matlacha, for now anyway
