Vegan Barbecue Newcomer Pure Grit BBQ Pivots from Restaurant to Retail
Pure Grit BBQ Founder Kerry Fitzmaurice serves attendees at the Beer Bourbon & BBQ Festival in January.
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In January 2020, New York-based Pure Grit BBQ made its public debut at the Beer Bourbon & BBQ festival in Brooklyn. Pure Grit BBQ Founder Kerry Fitzmaurice and her team served up something unexpected to the hungry BBQ-loving crowds: vegan barbecue. And despite the term "vegan," they were hooked, especially on the team's tasty sweet potato burnt ends and cornbread waffles.
Fitzmaurice had planned to use the festival as a way to generate buzz with barbecue enthusiasts in preparation for opening a new fast-casual vegan BBQ restaurant in Manhattan in May 2020. She had two spaces she had strongly considered in early 2020 fall through, but then the COVID-19 pandemic scrapped her plans entirely.
"It was devastating," Fitzmaurice said. "It's really hard to find good real estate, and you're wondering if you can put a smoker in and what does the permitting look like. It's a lot of scary things to think about. [After my first two locations fell through,] I started working with another restaurant guy in Manhattan and I spent time listening and learning from him. Then COVID happened and I was like, 'I don't think we're launching.' I now have a smoker but I don't have a restaurant."
Instead of opening a restaurant, she has instead pivoted to make Pure Grit BBQ an e-commerce business. Last week, the company began selling BBQ sauce, hot sauce, BBQ rub, stovetop smokers, t-shirts, and more via an online store.
"We ended up focusing all the money we had on product," Fitzmaurice said. "We made sure the BBQ sauce was FDA-approved, bottled, and on the market. And got the rub ready to go. ... Now we are even sold out of a few things on our website."
On top of the online store, the new Pure Grit BBQ site has a ton of creative vegan and gluten-free BBQ recipes, including BBQ Pulled Mushrooms, Pure Grit Mac, Baked Beans, and the Sweet Potato Burnt Ends that wowed the crowds in January. Some recipes encourage you to use items sold on Pure Grit's website to make them while others can be made easily at home with basic supplies — all in two hours or less.
"We are fully in on e-commerce so you can make barbecue at home until it's safe to come together again," Fitzmaurice said. "All the recipes are things I wanted to serve you in the restaurant, but these are less complicated than if you were prepping them in the kitchen. I love mac 'n' cheese and I love coleslaw, but if you go to a normal barbecue place and you're vegan, you can't eat them. I wanted to show people how you can make them nutritious and delicious using vegetables and make it easy."
Pure Grit BBQ's sweet potato burnt ends were a hit in January.
Pure Grit BBQ's slogan, which is featured on the site and on merchandise, is "BBQ For All." Fitzmaurice said the slogan can mean a lot of things, but it's first and foremost about inclusivity.
"I spent a lot of time thinking about the brand, and really thinking about what we are going through culturally between Black Lives Matter and COVID-19." Fitzmaurice said. "I am thinking through what this moment means to people. ... We are trying to convince people that barbecuing plants is a meaningful and rich experience. We want to be part of the barbecue community. This is an introduction to a brand, a concept, a way of thinking, a way of barbecuing, and people are excited to hear what we have to say. ... I want my meat-eating brother-in-law and my vegan gluten-free sister to want to eat together and experience the brand."
Fitzmaurice is putting money where her mouth is with her inclusive message too, as 10% of her online profits will be donated to the non-profit organizations World Central Kitchen and the ACLU.
Pure Grit uses the slogan BBQ For All.
The idea of "BBQ For All" also plays into an interesting thread of the BBQ world, where women have not been as prominently highlighted as men. When asked about being a woman in barbecue, Fitzmaurice said she's honored to be part of the conversation.
"It's an honor to call me a woman in barbecue, because I still have a lot to learn and a lot to earn," Fitzmaurice said. "I joke that I'm bringing femininity and plants to barbecue because I do feel that a lot of the barbecue energy is masculine. I want to show that plants are awesome too and I'm proud to bring a different perspective. Heroes I look up to include the Jones Sisters who have been plugging away in Kansas City for years."
As for opening her delayed restaurant, Fitzmaurice has set a new opening target date for May 2021. She wants a COVID-19 vaccine to be available before opening and wants to wait to see how the market changes.
"In the meantime, what is important to me is building a community that knows who we are and cares about our mission, so when we do launch in the spring we will have a lot of fans already," Fitzmaurice said. "Hopefully we will cultivate a beautiful community over the next year and launch with momentum."
Pure Grit's "tempeh ribs and brisket" recipe pulls ideas from traditional BBQ but is still vegan.
Thank you to Kerry for chatting with NYC BBQ Weekly. I look forward to seeing how Pure Grit BBQ evolves as 2020 continues.
Sean Ludwig
Founder, NYC BBQ
EAT ALL ABOUT IT
The original Dinosaur Bar-B-Que location in Syracuse has been a staple of the Northeast BBQ scene for many years.
Here are the top BBQ and related food news stories you need to know about this week:
The original Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse, NY has been a fixture for years and remains an important part of the Northeastern BBQ scene. Syracuse.com recently stopped by to review the restaurant and assess how it’s doing with big COVID-19 changes for indoor and outdoor dining. “It took an ice age to kill off the first dinosaurs,” the outlet writes. “It will take more than a virus to render this Dinosaur extinct, but patience will be key as people consider whether to venture out again.”
New York City has postponed the return of indoor dining indefinitely to protect people from catching COVID-19 indoors. Bill Fletcher, the owner of Fletcher’s Brooklyn Barbecue, told Bklyner that this was the right thing to do. “I think it’s really smart. I personally think that we’re opening up all of the phases in New York City a little bit quickly, without enough opportunity to see what’s going to happen. Also, a good portion of my crew got sick back in April, so I’m worried about them,” Fletcher said.
Philadelphia has a promising new barbecue option called Zig Zag that is worth checking out, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The joint was also shouted out by the Inquirer in its mentions of best BBQ spots like Mike’s BBQ, Henri’s Hotts, and Sweet Lucy’s Smokehouse.
Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque, a New York favorite, was recently spotlighted by Forbes for its ability to ship brisket, beef ribs, pork ribs, and more nationwide via Goldbelly and for its commitment to help charities.
New Yorkers love to-go cocktails, with a recent survey showing 86% in favor of keeping them permanently. New York State recently extended the practice until July 26, at which point the State will determine if it should be allowed for longer. Cocktails to-go have been a lifeline to hard-hit restaurants and bars.
Monk’s Meats, a great vegan barbecue operation out of Brooklyn, has been named as one of the 6 best vegan BBQ joints in the U.S. by VegNews.
Two chefs located in North New Jersey have teamed up to create a line of tasty BBQ sauces. The company, called DM BBQ Sauces, sells three varieties: Classic BBQ, Spicy Maple, and Asian BBQ.
IRL BBQ
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