FAMU Football Player Opens BBQ Joint in Tally

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Music and food sizzle at Wilson's

By Kati Schardl
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Barbecue - the word conjures up more than the flavor of slow-cooked
meat slathered in savory sauce.

It also evokes those backyard gatherings where grown-ups took turns
swapping tales and sticky-faced young 'uns darted through a thicket
of adult legs, exhilarated by a surfeit of food and freedom.

That down-home spirit may not be listed on the menu, but it's served
with every meal at Wilson's Bar-B-Q. Which is exactly what owner
Robert Wilson, a former FAMU and pro-football player, hoped to do
when he opened the restaurant earlier this summer.

"We want to be a neighborhood restaurant," Wilson said. "We wanted to
create an upscale family atmosphere, where it'd be OK for little kids
to run around. That's why we didn't put the bar in the main dining
area."

Wilson also wants his restaurant to reflect the history of the
neighborhood in which it's located.

"If we're talking about revitalizing Frenchtown, we should start with
our eateries," Wilson said. "Back in the day in Frenchtown, there
were restaurants that served breakfast, lunch and dinner and then had
live entertainment at night."

Wilson keeps the tradition alive by booking local bands four nights a
week. You can hear sizzling jazz on Monday, Thursday and Friday, with
blues and funk on Saturday.

"Eventually, we want to have live music here every night," Wilson
said. "We want to keep it diverse, from rock to neo-soul to blues to
contemporary jazz."

The restaurant hosts Martini Mondays featuring live jazz starting at
5:30 p.m. Wilson is starting a blues jam on Thursday nights with Cats
in the House and Billy Rigsby swapping hosting duties. Smoke and Cats
in the House rotate playing on Saturdays.

The eclectic musical menu draws an equally varied crowd, including
his FAMU coaches and some of the FSU football folks. They come to
chow down and to honor the self-deprecating Wilson's achievements on
the gridiron. Wilson was FAMU's leading receiver in 1995 and 1996,
setting school and career records for single-season receptions and
receiving yards. After graduation, he went to the NFL to play for the
Seattle Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints.

"I used to get a rush hitting on people," the 30-year-old compact,
muscled former wide receiver said. "Now I get a rush seeing people
smiling while they're eating my food.

"Running this restaurant is harder than playing in the NFL."

That's easy to believe when you see Wilson in action on a Saturday
night. He keeps an eye on what's cooking in the kitchen, helps bus
tables, greets customers, sweeps up the occasional spill and pauses
briefly to listen to the band.

"It's been overwhelming, and I'm pleased that (the restaurant) is so
busy," Wilson said. "But we weren't really staffed to handle it, and
I want to be able to give people quality service."

Wilson learned the importance of good service from his parents, James
and Geraldine Wilson, who also passed along the family recipes when
Wilson opened his restaurant.

"My family has been in the barbecue business for about 15 years, so I
grew up eating barbecue," the Monticello native said. "My parents had
a walk-up barbecue pit (Jerry's Rib Shack) on Lake Bradford Road when
I was in college.

"My father taught me and my brother how to brew his sauce."

Those sauces - including the tomato-based subtle and fiery hot sauce -
are featured at Wilson's Bar-B-Q, along with such soul-food side
dishes as fried green tomatoes, macaroni and cheese, collard greens
and fried okra.

"We make all the sides from scratch to my mom's recipes, and she does
all the desserts," Wilson said.

Any barbecue worth its sauce has to serve good ribs, and Wilson's
certainly fills that bill. But Wilson considers the true test of a
barbecue venue to be the excellence of its poultry products.

"Our specialty is the chicken," he said. "My father taught me and my
brother how to cook it just right."

IF YOU GO


What: Wilson's Bar-B-Q.

Where: 325 N. Bronough St.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11
a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to midnight Friday; noon to midnight
Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Phone: 575-3554.