Vermont might not be known as a barbecue state like the Carolinas or Texas, but even outside more populated areas, Southern-style cuisine is popping up to feed the need. Ted Hoadley credits programming on the Food Network with stirring up his affection for smoked food. Now he’s brought his own version to Morrisville with Yeah Baby’s BBQ-N-Grill.

The former sous chef, whose credits include Stowe restaurants such as the Gables Inn, started the barbecue business last summer as a mobile trailer. He and his wife and business partner, Tracy Lafrance, traveled the state, hitting festivals from Bristol to Enosburg. But the Eden residents wanted to bring their smoked meats closer to home. “I’ve loved barbecue for a long time,” says Hoadley. “But it’s a hard thing to come by in Lamoille County.”

Enter 387 Brooklyn Street, until recently the site of Sabrina’s Bakery & Café. Rather than sticking to their original plan of selling their barbecue sauce through the winter while the mobile business is off the road, the couple decided to open a 45-seat full-service restaurant. The retro building opened its doors on October 15.

Since then, Hoadley has already hired four new employees to keep up with demand for his Bourbon-barbecue ribs and pulled pork and brisket sandwiches with homemade buttermilk coleslaw. There’s breakfast, too, including biscuits with house sausage gravy.

And the compliments have been rolling in, too. “We had people from Texas that had moved up here two or three years ago. They said they haven’t been able to find barbecue this good since Texas,” Hoadley recalls. “That kind of gave me a really big head.”

The original print version of this article was headlined "’Cue-ing Up"