The Barbecue Boys restaurant turns up the heat with new Bethlehem location

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Another late-night eatery has officially opened in Bethlehem.

On Tuesday, the Barbecue Boys opened at 306 S. New St.

It's the restaurant's second brick-and-mortar location — the first is in Phillipsburg, New Jersey — for Lehigh Valley native brothers and co-owners Andrew and Dean Zannakis.

"It's kind of a coming home thing for us," Dean Zannakis, 24, said.

The pair — both Southern Lehigh High School graduates — has been in the barbecue business for around five years, Dean Zannakis said, but his brother's experience dates to his early teens.

"I thought I'd be doing some type of finance job," Andrew Zannakis said.

But the trajectory of his career path changed when their father brought home a backyard smoker when Andrew Zannakis was 14.

He said he started making barbecue "because I love ribs, pulled pork, all that stuff."

"Then once I got about 16-17 [years old], my brother's friends and my friends, for their graduations, they would ask me, 'Oh, can you get us like 10 racks of ribs or so?" Andrew Zannakis said.

'Music Unites'

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and inspiration struck: a barbecue food truck.

In-person businesses shutting down provided the brothers with a different opportunity; opening a brick-and-mortar storefront was a cheaper route to pursue.

By August 2020, Dean and Andrew Zannakis opened their flagship store in Phillipsburg.

So why Bethlehem for the second location?

It's not just a space closer to home, but a chance to meet new faces and try a new dining style.

"So we were looking for a new location the past year or so," Andrew Zannakis said.

"About six months ago, [the building owners] reached out — the tenants here [Zekraft] were leaving, so they asked us if we could come up with a concept that we think would do well at South Side and possibly be open late night for all the college kids in town."

And so the barbecue bowls were born.

Andrew Zannakis said the menu and build-your-own-style food options were developed to cater to a fast-casual operation that can accommodate large volumes of customers.

"Everything on the menu, it's pretty much just go through and we'll try our best to accommodate you," Dean Zannakis said.

"So you really get to make it yours. And you really get to design the whole barbecue to be what you want it to be.

"It's all just whatever the customer wants, but it just makes it really good, unique opportunity to customize it to yourself."

That way, food can be batched, Andrew Zannakis said.

'Customize it to yourself'

Dean Zannakis said they don't know what to expect from Bethlehem's day or late-night crowd just yet — some weeks at the Phillipsburg location are slower, and other weeks they can go through around 1,000 pounds of meat, he said.

The new location will be open from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and from Thursday through Saturday will stay open until 3 a.m.

Don't know what to get?

Dean Zannakis said the mac-and-cheese and brisket are the two hottest sellers at the Phillipsburg location, but he loves a barbecue bowl with grilled chicken.

Andrew Zannakis said his go-to is a brisket sandwich on rye bread with roasted vegetables and chimichurri sauce.

Dennis Benner would have to agree with Andrew Zannakis, rating the sandwich at a 12/10.

Benner said he attended the soft opening and ordered a brisket sandwich. On Tuesday, he said he "had to come back" for the official opening and order another.

"It's all so good," Benner said. "Fantastic."

For their first official day, Dean Zannakis said it "started off really smooth," and a steady flow of customers came through, some even walking through the doors saying, "it smells so good."

"We're just working on something that we love, and we get to do new creative things," Dean Zannakis said.

"Personally, I'm just super excited to get through the first week and just iron out everything... We're just working on a lot of stuff that I'm excited to come."