by Sarah Hall
his year marks
the 20th anniversary of the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking
Contest. With over $25,000 up for grabs in events ranging from whole-hog
cooking to hog calling, 242 teams from 20 states and three foreign countries
(Canada, Austria, and Brazil) will file into Tom Lee Park to celebrate Memphis'
best-known dining tradition for three days beginning Thursday.
Among some barbecuers, winning is more than a matter of pride and prestige. For them the thrill of having their whole hog or pork shoulder deemed the best is enough to convince them to pursue year-round glory as restaurateurs.
Memphis' own John Wills took the title of Grand Champion in the whole-hog division, second place in ribs, and third in shoulder in 1980 and whole-hog again in 1981.
Riding high on the newfound fame and ensuing publicity, Wills opened his barbecue restaurant on Central Avenue in March 1983. Six years later, he opened a second location in the Sanderlin shopping center. Struggling to keep both open, Wills eventually had to close the Central location in May 1990. The Sanderlin restaurant closed two weeks ago.
Wills notes the dates of the closings and says, "Aside from the barbecue contest, I guess May is a bad month for us." When Wills and his wife shut the doors to the Sanderlin location, they issued a press release that cited "low recognition, poor visibility, and limited parking" as the main problems. Wills says he plans to make a decision within 60 to 90 days on a new location, but he is not sure the restaurant will keep the focus on barbecue.
In the Sanderlin restaurant, the slabs from the marble bar and the enormous wood-framed mirror (once a fixture of the Gayoso Hotel) have been dismantled. Reflecting over the almost-empty space, Wills says he finds fault with the contest and explains why he competed for only two years. "The original idea of Memphis barbecue is not there," he says. "And in four years of judging, I never tasted any good barbecue."
Wills isn't exactly keen on the restaurant business either, but speaks as if it's something he feels compelled to continue. "I wouldn't recommend it to anybody because it's something you have to want to do right off the bat," he says.
Still, it's hard to convince some competitors not to try to reinvent the thrill of victory and the sense of camaraderie found on the barbecue circuit.
Ron Skinner and his team, the Super Smokers, competed in the sanctioned events Memphis in May holds across the country for nine years before they earned a spot here in 1994. That year they placed sixth in the rib category. After a poor showing the next year, Skinner and his partner began a catering company with no intention of opening a restaurant. But four days after winning third place for their ribs in 1996, they opened Super Smokers Barbecue in St. Louis.
Returning this year, Skinner hopes the experience will help. "One would think we would do better," he says. "We've learned the volume that we do [in the restaurant] is very hard to do with a Memphis-style rib, but we still do it."
While keeping his 64-seat joint packed by serving dry ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, and whole chickens, Skinner began practicing on his winning grill in late April, almost forgetting how much attention it demands. "You have to be prepared for all kinds of things," he says, "because they will happen."
Downriver from Memphis, Dr. Harry Mills opened Doc Harry's in Madison, Mississippi, on the heels of a second-place win in 1994 and a first-place showing in 1995, both in the rib division. After opening the barbecue-and-cajun restaurant in January 1996, Dr. Harry's Pork Choppers placed only seventh.
This year, Mills, a dentist by day, says he's well-rested and ready to compete. "We've not come away totally empty-handed yet," he says. "This year we're going to take it all."
Doc Harry's marks Mills' second attempt in the restaurant business. And although his first try was "horribly unsuccessful," Mills says, "this time it's doing very well and I'm glad I got back into it."
Unlike Wills and Skinner, Mills considers running a restaurant stressful, but not nearly as stressful as competing.
"I've got so many friends that are such good cooks. And when we all get in there competing against each other, the money and trophy are immaterial. The bragging rights are the main thing," he says.
Mills' competitive spirit helps more than just his team. Contest publicist Thelma Balfour says ABC's Primetime Live, USA Today, The New York Times, CNN's On the Menu, and the United Kingdom's Trans Media will all report on the contest, plus Al Roker will return to forecast the weather for the Today show on Thursday and Friday. Media coverage of the event gives contestants like these three a chance to plug their restaurants.
And even for those barbecuers who leave Tom Lee with nothing more than a sunburn, Wills points out the inevitable upside to the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest: "It's still a great way to act a little crazy, drink beer, and meet good people."