After a brief trial-period last week, Kiser’s opened its third brick-and-mortar spot at the former Quiznos location, 42 S. Court St., Monday. The grand opening was such a success, workers agreed, that the food “ran out” by 3 p.m. and they had to close up shop.
Amid the Court Street cuisine of burritos, pizza and beer, one fixture of Athens’ restaurant scene is now beefing up to push its signature dishes into the ranks.
The new addition? Kiser’s Barbeque. Uptown passersby literally ate their way through the restaurant’s inventory on its first official day.
After a brief trial-period last week, Kiser’s opened its third brick-and-mortar spot at the former Quiznos location, 42 S. Court St., Monday. The grand opening was such a success, workers agreed, that the food “ran out” by 3 p.m. and they had to close up shop.
General manager Matt Skinner chalked up the rush to customers’ general consensus to stuff their faces with the menu’s larger items.
“We got hit hard,” Skinner said. “A lot of them got jumbo sandwiches, which has three times more meat than regular ones.”
Skinner added that his restaurant will be open Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. On Sundays, Skinner said, Kiser’s will open at noon, but he was unsure of when closing time would be.
Coinciding with the opening, Skinner said, Kiser’s has condensed its menu at all locations. A regular-sized BBQ pork sandwich costs $6.95 at Kiser’s and the jumbo rendition totals $11.95, both served with a side.
Tiffany Stempko, assistant manager of the restaurant, said “everyone was definitely excited about it” — even Ohio University Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones.
“During the four-day trial run, Jenny Hall-Jones, dean of students, came,” Stempko explained. “And she said, ‘Can I take pictures with you? I need to tweet about this.’”
Hall-Jones tweeted a photo of her trip last week, calling it an “awesome” experience.
Skinner said that moment embodied the restaurant’s entire opening. He said he was surprised to see more OU faculty members turn out than students.
“We came to Court Street because we wanted the students to come two or three times a week here, rather than once a weekend all the way to the East State (location),” Skinner said. “But we had a lot of OU faculties coming in instead, which was great.”
Though customers were typically older, Skinner said that isn’t
the case for the restaurant’s workforce. Eleven of the 15 deckhands employed at the new Uptown location are OU students.
Skinner guessed he might need more help “along the road,” especially if he decides to venture into the late-night foodie scene.
“Whether we will be extending the opening hour during the weekends or even Friday is still unknown,” he said. “But if we do, we will need to hire more night crew.”
But what Kira Remy, a sophomore studying journalism, hopes for is seating. The new location has counters for folks to stand while they eat, similar to GoodFella’s, at their 35 N. Court St. shop.
“I liked it. It was good,” Remy said. “ . . . Also, I wonder if they are going to put chairs there because right now they don’t have much and it wasn’t so convenient.”
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