NewsOctober 7, 2016
Dexter Queen barbecue to open restaurant in Cape
One might expect a restaurant with a name like Dexter Queen and a longstanding location to remain content in the small Southeast Missouri town of Dexter. One would be wrong. Lori Hawkins, who owns the 67-year-old barbecue restaurant, has been looking to expand...
One might expect a restaurant with a name like Dexter Queen and a longstanding location to remain content in the small Southeast Missouri town of Dexter.
One would be wrong.
Lori Hawkins, who owns the 67-year-old barbecue restaurant, has been looking to expand.
Recent renovations in Dexter have doubled the establishment's seating area.
In May, a Dexter Queen food truck began operating around Dexter and Dudley, Missouri, and in September, the restaurant began offering catering service.
But Hawkins wanted more. She wanted a second location. And she had her sights set on Cape Girardeau.
"We have a huge customer base in Cape Girardeau and surrounding areas that come to Dexter to eat with us," Hawkins said.
So in September, the Dexter Queen food truck, managed by Hawkins' son, Jim Thrower, started making appearances in Cape Girardeau, joining a small but growing legion of food trucks in the Schnucks/Kmart parking lot.
The truck, carrying hickory-smoked pork sandwiches, nachos and tacos, was meant to test the waters.
Hawkins; her husband, Dana; and Thrower intended to operate the food truck for a while and see whether Cape Girardeau would be the best place to grow the restaurant and open a second branch.
"Well, it is," Hawkins said.
A week after the food truck parked in Cape Girardeau, Hawkins applied for a business license, selected a location and had a plan to open a new Dexter Queen on Broadway.
"An opportunity just presented itself with the location ... and I just couldn't let it pass me by. It's perfect for us to get our feet wet," Hawkins said.
She expects to open her doors to the public in four to six weeks at the new, second location, in the space where Mediterranean on Broadway used to operate.
"We're going to make it a Dexter Queen," Hawkins said, meaning the look and feel of the new location will be similar to the one that's been home to the restaurant for more than half a century.
The difference will be in the size.
This new location is considerably smaller.
Hawkins said "maybe 28 people" could be seated there at once, so there will be an emphasis on carryout.
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"And then hopefully we'll grow to where I'm forced to find a larger location," Hawkins said.
The menu, too, will be the same hickory-smoked barbecue Dexter Queen patrons have come to expect, with plenty of hot mustard sauce available, she said, and no barbecue sauce.
"You will not come in and say, 'I want barbecue sauce,' because you're not going to get it," Hawkins said, knowing this could be surprising to some people.
But, she said, "we've been doing this so long, it's right."
Because the second location will be geared more to college students than the original, Thrower, who will manage the second brick-and-mortar location once it opens, also will have the opportunity to design and offer items unique to the Cape Girardeau location.
"I'm always trying to cook new things," Thrower said.
Already, he has plans for pork rinds at every table and Taco Tuesday specials.
"I'm just excited to do it and have Cape Girardeau see what we have to offer," Thrower said.
Though the Dexter Queen food truck has tested the waters adequately, it will continue rolling through Cape Girardeau. The owners are acquiring a new, larger generator to expand the truck's offerings beyond the current limited menu to include hamburgers and baked potatoes with barbecue fixings, among other items.
Hawkins said they're also considering expanding the truck's route to include nights in downtown Cape Girardeau and special events.
Leon and Gwen McGarrity opened the original Dexter Queen in 1949.
At the time, it was called Daisy Queen and specialized in ice cream and root beer.
The McGarritys eventually changed the name and broadened the menu to include the hamburgers and barbecue pork sandwiches with hot mustard that have been served in the same Dexter location for decades.
Though ownership has changed several times over the years, Hawkins was proud to note hers is a family-run business, similar to the way the McGarritys operated it.
After 10 years owning and operating Dexter Queen, Hawkins looks forward to bringing the popular brand of barbecue to Cape Girardeau.
It's happening, she admitted, very quickly, evolving from an exploratory food truck to a brick-and-mortar location in a matter of weeks -- but, she said, "That's how I roll."
bbrown@semissourian.com
(573) 388-3630
Pertinent address:
1027 Broadway, Cape Girardeau
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