Moe's Original BBQ


		Moe's Original BBQ was founded by three Bama boys: Mike Fernandez from Tuscaloosa, Ben Gilbert from Athens, and Jeff Kennedy from Huntsville. After meeting at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, they instantly became friends and had a mutual interest in all things Southern: BBQ, blues, college football, and whisky. In 1988, Mike hooked up with Moses Day in Tuscaloosa and began learning to fire roast meats. When Moses fired up his backyard barrel pit, everyone in T-Town knew where to go. The boys were lucky to learn from Moses and his distinct style makes up Moe's original flavor of BBQ. The boys loved the mountains and eventually they all landed in Vail, Colorado and refined the cooking skills they had learned. By using fruit wood to smoke the meats and hitting it with two sauces, they knew they had something special. Moe's Original BBQ smokes all meats fresh daily. Unlike other BBQ joints, they don't stop there. They prepare eight to ten Southern style side dishes everyday with recipes derived from mothers, grandmothers, nannies and housekeepers. Moe's Original BBQ is a Southern soul food revival. They serve great food in an atmosphere that is relaxed, spontaneous, yet civilized….well, sometimes.

	2001 All running separate restaurants, the boys built a $600 pit out of landlord's junkyard and began catering. However, the first gig was serving chocolate covered strawberries and the second …pork at a Jewish wedding…strong start. Summer 2002 Bought a 40' concession trailer, decked it out with wood siding and a tin roof and began selling Q on the side of the road. Sold out 100 consecutive days. Business was off. Ski Season 2002-2003 Opened a small, carry out joint in Lionshead Village at the base of Vail Mountain. Summer 2003 Moved the tin top down the road to Eagle-Vail. Mark "Pinto" White joined the team. Ski Season 2003-2004 Vail Resorts invited Moe's to sell Q at the base of Beaver Creek Mountain.. Now they were selling Q to a vast audience at two world class ski mountains. Summer 2004 Continued honing skills and logistics at both locations. Ski Season 2004-2005 moved up the stairs to a bigger, badder joint with a bar where they could actually sell the whisky. Ryan O'Keefe and Chuck Ezell join the team. Summer 2005 Opened restaurant in Eagle, CO. Designed and built full restaurant from the ground up. Ski Season 2005 Grew the Lionshead and Eagle winter business. Spring 2006 Pinto pairs up with O'Keefe to open new restaurant in Orange Beach, AL on the Gulf of Mexico. Roots are returned to the south. Winter 2006-2007 Refining logistics and costs at all locations. Looking into other possibilities in the mountains and around the south. Fall 2007 Team up with Kevin and Eric Witherington to open Moe's Original Bar-B-Que and Blues Revue in Vestavia, AL. Spring 2008 Birmingham Moe's expands to a lunch outpost downtown in the financial district. Fall 2008 Hooked up with Steve Schalk and the Gothic Theater to open up Moe’s Bar-B-Que & Bowl in Denver, CO. Winter 2008-2009 Pinto partners with Brent Boyd to open up Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que & Blues in Daphne, AL. Spring 2009 Kevin, Eric and new partner Paul Clark open up two new Birmingham locations in Hoover and Lakeview. Fall 2009 The Moe's Daphne boys open up a weekend outpost at downtown Fairhope, AL's Windmill Market. Winter 2010 Veteran restaurateur and Chef Ted Schneider teamed up with the boys to open a Moe's in the heart of historic Old town in Fort Collins, CO. In nine years we have come from a junkyard pit to eleven successful restaurants with no debt. Give us nine more years!