Have you ever discovered something while traveling and thought, “I think this would be popular back home?” Maybe you'd like to have a professional football team here, palm trees in our parks, or perhaps it would be nice just to see an outlet mall come to town. While some smaller items such as ketchup potato chips from Canada or the popular New England soft drink Moxie are easier to bring home in a suitcase, realistically some of the best travel discoveries may never be available in Idaho Falls.
Fortunately for Eastern Idaho, Lloyd and Loretta Westbrook have successfully brought true southern barbecue to our region.
Often imitated, but rarely duplicated, it's a daunting task to successfully bring the passion and the true inspired flavors of traditional southern barbecue to the other side of the country, but that's exactly what this couple have done.
As a young boy in Hickman, Ky., Lloyd watched his grandfather, Walter Smith, carefully select the special woods for the fire and the spices for the meat that would result in delicious barbecue. Lloyd worked alongside his grandfather, learning, listening, and soaking in the knowledge at every turn.
“Some of my brothers and sisters as well as myself learned the process and for many years prepared barbecue for the family and neighborhood friends in our one-room brick pit,” recalls Lloyd.
Many years later Lloyd met and married Loretta who helped with his dream of opening a restaurant. In 1995 the hard-working couple and their children established Grandpa’s Southern Bar-B-Q in nearby Arco.
“It has always been our desire that Grandpa’s would be a place to come for good food and a good time,” adds Lloyd. “I came to visit Idaho in Christmas of 1978. Coming from the Midwest I was tired of the humidity because it chills you to the bone in the winter and in the summertime you wilt. I had had enough of that so during my visit I decided I was going to spend the rest of my life in Idaho.”
The Art Of Southern Barbecue
Those familiar with the deep south understand how important barbecue is – it's not something to be taken lightly.
“Barbecue has a calling and when we were first getting started I knew my style was authentic and original,” says Lloyd. “It has an aroma that will travel at least two miles and I know that because one day in Arco a couple of guys on motorcycles found us and said they could smell our barbecue all the way from the airport, which was two miles away.”
Grandpa’s Southern Bar-B-Q started in Arco, but moved to Idaho Falls in 2002. For years they experimented with different locations around town until settling on the west side just off Broadway where they've been for the past seven years.
Generational Experience
Over the years Lloyd has expanded on what his grandfather taught him and still prepares the meat on “The Pit” while the side dishes and desserts are prepared using southern traditions from Loretta’s parents, as well as his own. The regular crowds of repeated customers is all the validation they need to know they're doing something right, but the biggest challenge for this couple might just be trying to determine what they're most known for. Lloyd feels the catfish or the gumbo are his specialties, while others rave about their pecan pie. For his wife of more than 40 years, she has her own favorite.
“The pulled pork has always been my best staple, but we'd prefer to be known for our hospitality,” says Loretta. “Cooking, talking to people, sharing with people, I grew up meeting people and that's part of the southern hospitality and I love it. It's been so fun to be in business and we love it here in Idaho Falls.”
Beyond The Restaurant
Part of the southern hospitality when you visit Grandpa’s Southern Bar-B-Q is the feeling you are among good friends or close relatives and that's never going to change. But there is more than one way to enjoy this amazing food than to dine in. They're also known to cater both small and large gatherings such as family reunions, company picnics, open houses, and other major events.
To date the largest catering order they've done is for 600 people and they're quick to let people know their staff is big enough to handle nearly anything and we believe them. After all, the Westbrooks have been bringing authentic southern barbecue to southeast Idaho for nearly 30 years with the same passion and enthusiasm since day one, which is great news to those who appreciate the difference.
For More Information
Grandpa’s Southern Bar-B-Q
1540 W Broadway St
208-357-4724
www.grandpassouthernbbq.com