What means “South” as much as barbecue?
Banana pudding.
That’s why Tops Bar-B-Que is debuting its banana pudding Tuesday, August 29th, at all 17 of its locations. That includes the newest store, which will open September 8th at 7960 Cordova Road at Germantown Parkway.
“We’re a place in the South and it’s a requirement to have a banana pudding,” says Hunter Brown with Tops Operations LLC. “We wanted another dessert option outside of our apple turnover. It just makes a lot of sense to add this to our repertoire.”
While he was talking, Brown was driving to Tops locations to watch employees make the pudding. He wants to “make sure everybody is calibrated and doing it the right way.”
They’ve never sold a banana pudding before, even though it’s a natural at barbecue cookouts across the South.
As for creating the banana pudding, Brown says the Tops banana pudding “definitely was designed for the South. It had to have real bananas in the ingredients.”
And, he adds, “We could have gone with a banana puree instead of using real bananas. I’m sure people do. It’s a less expensive way to get a banana pudding out there. We didn’t take any short cuts out there. And we’re real proud.”
In addition to real bananas, the pudding has the traditional vanilla wafers. “It had to have wafers. And then it has to be easy for QSR. It needs to come in containers so you can eat it through a drive-through-window.”
You might think you’re tasting whipped cream in it, but their banana pudding doesn’t have any in it, Brown says. “It’s very fluffy on its own.”
Like any new product, they “do a lot of testing” before it shows up at the Tops locations. “We try all different kinds and types of ways to do it. The main objective is that it’s good for the guests. Right? So, that’s got to be one of the boxes checked.
“But another box that has to be checked is, it’s not going to get in the way of important things we do like pork and burgers. It’s got to be operationally fitting for us as well. Not only do guests get what they deserve with a new product, but they get what they expect from all of our great products.”
For more than two years, Brown and Tops CEO Randy Hough talked about adding banana pudding to the menu. “And then we prioritized things that we need. A smoked barbecue bologna sandwich was number one on our list.”
This was followed by a chicken option for their customers. Tops Fire Braised Chicken was born.
They then looked at their sides and came up with their macaroni and cheese.
And, like their mac and cheese, the banana pudding can be added to the Tops combo for $1 more.
Tops banana pudding is here to stay. “It’s a Southern thing. Absolutely.”
