Thursday, April 28, 2016

Another Longstanding Buckhead Village Business Has Closed, But a New One is Opening!

Buckhead Barbecue restaurant changes hands. 

One Star Ranch, located in the heart of Buckhead at 25 Irby Avenue, has closed.  According to the restaurant's website, the restaurant closed April 12th after over 25 years in business.  

"Sadly we are saying goodbye to our Buckhead location after Tuesday, April 12, 2016. We want to say thank you to all of our wonderful customers that have come and gone over the last 25 years! We will have a new location, to be determined in the near future, so stay posted right here for all of the exciting details!"

There has been no word on where or when One Star may resurface.  

Before the restaurant was One Star Ranch it has been known as the Rib Ranch, and Texas Line BBQ, before that.  

One Star owner Frank Bonk, who owned the restaurants, but not the land, sold the business to Edward Kenimer, III, who plans to reopen the restaurant as "Buckhead BBQ," in the coming weeks.  The building is 100 years old and needs some updating, said Kenimer.  Kenimer, a veteran caterer, has run Buster K BBQ for a number of years, after having catered for such local Buckhead establishments as The Lost Dog and Five Paces Inn.  Kenimer plans to do no "renovations," but does plan to give the space a deep cleaning.  He also plans to replace the grease trap, in addition to repairing and replacing other items.  

Buckhead BBQ will specialize in "East Georgia style BBQ," whereas One Star Ranch's specialty was "Texas style BBQ." Kenimer will smoke his meat over hickory and will make his own sauces and rubs in house.   

Kenimer also plans to offer scratch made mac n' cheese, fresh vegetables, and gourmet salads as well as assorted craft cocktails and craft beers.   Plans also call for house made banana pudding when seasonality allows.  "The Buckhead Bag" will be a takeout option from the restaurant where patrons can run in, and in about five minutes get a bag with a BBQ sandwich, chips, sauce, mini moon pie and a wet nap for under ten bucks.  

Plans call for the cleaning and reworking of the restaurant to wrap up in "a few weeks." Buckhead BBQ will be open Monday through Thursday until 10:30PM and Friday & Saturday until 2AM. 


The BBQ restaurant is adjacent to the former Rio Bravo where there is a talk of apartments being planned.  The owner of the property on which the BBQ restaurant is located has reportedly been approached about selling, but sought a sky high valuation which no one has thus far come close to being willing to pay.  

Are you excited to see a Buckhead Village establishment change hands versus be torn down or left vacant?  Have you tried Edward's BBQ elsewhere?  If One Star does relocate, where should the go?

Please share your thoughts below.  

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I used to eat here a lot when I worked in Buckhead. Not the best bbq but decent and loved the thin cut onion rings.

GA isn't known for bbq so no idea what east Georgia style means. Good luck with that.

G.G. said...

If by east Georgia they mean Augusta area, then it probably means hash over rice and mustard sauce. Further in and north of I-20, it could mean vinegar-based sauce with pepper and tomatoes.

Anonymous said...

So long as the Q is a little better than decent, all will be ok. Ultimately, the days are numbered in that location because someone will pony up the bucks for the land or the owner will come to his senses. I have no freaking idea what East Georgia BBQ is, however. Using "the google" only provided "Georgia has no style of its own"...

Anonymous said...

I used to go to that location when Tommy (Goose) McDonnell had his Texas State Line BBQ there.

Georgia is known for its “Q”, you just have to know where to go. There are several states one would call “Q” states, but they all have the same problem. Many think they know “Q”, but they don’t. That is true of both the establishment owners as well as the patrons. Yet, these places stay in business. So, a lot of folks don’t really know good “Q”. And, I get a real kick out of hearing that there is no such thing as East Georgia “Q”. Shows you how much the Google knows.

Hash on white rice is popular in the Denmark, Bamberg, SC area while yella sauce is more of a Columbia area thing. But it can vary geographically.

If you want to become one with “Q”, you have to seek the way . . .

A Brittany Blogger said...

I am a certified barbecue judge with 3 different BBQ sanctioning organizations and a master judge with one. I was curious about the term East Georgia BBQ as well. Yesterday, while judging 5 categories of BBQ at a contest, I polled several Master Judges and none of them knew what East Georgia style Q is! One said good marketing. Another said they may be trying to claim a Carolina style. So, to the anonymous person "who knows Q", please enlighten us with specifics. Flavors? Preferred meats? Method of cooking? Sauce? That way we'll be able to compare your version with what the restaurant actually serves. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

It's sad to see so many longstanding places close. I agree it's probably only a matter of time before that location is developed. I was wondering what Georgia BBQ is. Right now think that the Tipsy Pig in Lillburn has the best BBQ although it is more of a to go place.





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