Trey Bacon’s Tres Bien Que barbecue sauce will be featured at Red, White & Que food truck. Photo courtesy Trey Bacon
Business partners Trey Bacon and Christian Walther may have one of Baton Rouge’s most interesting barbecue business ideas up their sleeves.
Red, White & Que is the name of their grand idea—a barbecue food truck pulling three competition-style smokers on a trailer.
Bacon and Walther say the concept started as a joke—a far-off, crazy idea. But as they thought about it more, the idea grew on them. Barbecuing has always been a hobby for the guys, (Bacon started bottling and selling his own barbecue sauce, Tres Bien Que, in 2014) and both men are experienced in the food and business industries. After doing research and crunching numbers, they pulled the trigger and went full-steam ahead with plans for Red, White & Que.
Walther calls the name Red, White & Que a “stroke of genius.” It hit him just before the Fourth of July—what goes together better than a classic barbecue and patriotism?
|
|
|
“It was lucky, too,” Bacon says. “We went ahead and registered with the Secretary of State and no one in Louisiana had that name, which is kind of hard to believe.”
The truck will be quite recognizable on the streets, emblazoned with an American flag-themed design.
The menu at Red, White & Que will change daily and weekly, with updated menus posted to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But barbecue staples will remain constant—brisket, pulled pork and ribs will be available every day. Bacon and Walther want to experiment with dishes and create barbecue fare that can be eaten with one hand, such as sandwiches and nachos.
“Most people who are eating food truck food are doing something else at the same time,” Bacon says. “We don’t want people to have to worry about sitting down with a fork and a knife.”
|
|
|
During the first few months of business, the truck will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, with the possibility of expanding hours of operation later. They’ll set up shop outside one of Walther’s several bars: Huey’s, Draft House, The Bandit (previously known as The Levee and Tops) and a new bar in progress on Third Street.
Walther and Bacon hope to have the truck up and running by the Auburn vs. LSU football game Sept. 19.
“For now, it’s just waiting,” Bacon says, “and that’s as nerve-wracking as it sounds.”