Barbosa's Takes a Different Approach to Running a Barbecue Business

"It's been a long haul, for sure," says Alejandro Barbosa, owner of Barbosa's Barbeque food truck, which is taking a different approach to a barbecue business. Growing up in south Texas, he often watched others tend the barbecue pit, but didn't get into smoking meats himself until after he graduated from college and was living in Baton Rouge. "I was homesick for Texas barbecue at the time," he recalls, so in 2015, he began hosting parties and "smoking a lot of meat."

That year, as he perfected his techniques, he realized that "people were really digging the food." At the time, Barbosa was working as a physical therapist. His ultimate goal was to get a doctorate in the field, but when he didn't get into graduate school, he began considering other options. "It was just the perfect storm of being jaded from health care, me cooking a lot, and me looking for a way to have a little bit of freedom," he says. "I took the plunge and actually quit my job six years ago, the week of August 7."

Fortunately, Barbosa's Barbeque gained a fast following, doing just a couple of "mostly underground" events a month in Baton Rouge.

In December 2019, Barbosa and fiancée Cay Wittenberg made the move to Denver, drawn by the cooler weather, friends who already lived in the area and the acoustic-music scene (Barbosa is also a mandolin player). His business plan was to buy a food truck and "hammer catering," he says, including corporate events and music festivals. "I got my permits and opened up the week of the COVID shutdown. ... I kind of just have terrible timing with everything that I do," he jokes.
With events 86'd, Barbosa found a home base at Banded Oak Brewing, 470 Broadway, after connecting with owner Will Curtin. "He's a great dude — all the staff, we get along. We have a great relationship, and they have great beer, of course," he notes.

Despite the less than ideal circumstances, the truck found fans in 2020, mainly through word of mouth — not only for its traditional barbecue (including stellar brisket and smoked turkey), but also specials like banh mi and Tex-Mex-style tacos. "It was almost by necessity," he says of the rotating offerings. "You can only get someone in for barbecue so many times a month. It's expensive, and it's also super-rich. It's something that people don't want all the time. Mixing up the menu was a way to get people interested in what I was doing, and to get people to come back multiple times a week."

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, 2020 ended up being the business's most successful year since launching, with the truck allowing Barbosa to operate much more frequently than he did in Baton Rouge —typically two to three times a week. He also began offering free meals to local musicians — who found themselves suddenly without income from live music — which helped spread the word about his ’cue. "It was kind of a bittersweet moment," he says of finding success during the first year of the pandemic.
Since then, Barbosa's has continued to increase revenue, especially as events come back. The truck has also found a nice rhythm, typically serving up classic barbecue at Banded Oak on Saturdays and focusing on wings every Wednesday. "I have almost two customer bases," Barbosa notes, saying that while there's a bit of crossover, most people tend to show up for one or the other. "I find that really interesting," he adds. "I feel good having that, though, because if we need to pivot, we can" — especially as rising costs and supply-chain issues with everything from disposables to condiments to the oak wood he prefers to cook with continue to be a challenge.

While Barbosa once considered moving the business into a brick-and-mortar, he's come to embrace the flexibility of operating as a food truck; it allows him to build a good customer base with regular service and to take breaks when needed for both personal time and events.

In mid-September, for example, he'll take a month-long hiatus from Banded Oak as he focuses on a series of gigs, including cooking at Telluride Blues & Brews and the Billy Strings Renewal festival in Buena Vista, as well as catering his own wedding. "To me, that's the most personal thing I could do, and I wouldn't have it any other way," he concludes. 

For more information about Barbosa's Barbeque, including its upcoming schedule, visit barbosasbarbque.com or follow it on Instagram @barbosasbarbque.