Saucy's Southern Is Bringing Barbecue to the University Neighborhood

Kierre Dawkins and Khristian Matthews started barbecuing together at tailgates when they were both students at Mississippi State University (MSU). Now the two are just weeks away from opening the first brick-and-mortar location of Saucy's Southern BBQ at 2100 South University Boulevard.

Bearing the same name as their popular food truck and line of THC-infused barbecue sauces, the new Saucy's will be equipped with four Champion Tuff wood-fired grills. Specially ordered from Nashville, the grills set the duo apart from the Denver barbecue standard of smoking meat. "We want to keep that same open flame, wood, mesquite aspect. ... That's just kind of what we grew up on: good, grilled food," Matthews says.

In the spirit of Mississippi barbecue, the pair envision a streamlined fast-casual hangout for all types of clientele in the busy neighborhood, including students from the University of Denver, who will be able to use their meal plan at the restaurant. "We want to eliminate the wait as much as possible. Just kind of walk through, picking your plate as you're deciding what you want, fixing your plate and checking right out," Dawkins explains.

"Instead of just doing a bunch of things mediocre, we have a small menu that we want to specialize and perfect,'' Matthews adds. Those items include "ribs, chicken and hot links. You go to a barbecue in the South, and that's mainly what you get."
While it will be quick and convenient, the owners are aiming for Saucy's to be more than a pit stop. "We want to create a vibe," Dawkins says, then pauses. "Southern barbecue eating."

"Eat and go if you want to, but just come and be yourself, mainly. That's how the barbecues are back home. Everybody just come chill. Let your hair down. Have a good time. Get some sauce on your face," Matthews jokes. They promise that a unique interior design will help create the ambience.

With an estimated four or five weeks of remodeling left before opening, the redesign of the space (which was formerly a Qdoba) is ramping up. "It has some visual elements we've never seen in a restaurant before," says Dawkins, who was a fine-arts major at MSU.

"It's not your typical barbecue restaurant with a sports-bar feel," Matthews agrees.

While the restaurant comes together, the two are staying busy elsewhere. The popular Saucy's food truck is open for its final days before being used exclusively for event catering and bookings.

Saucy's THC-infused barbecue sauces are now in more than a dozen local dispensaries, often proving a mutually beneficial relationship. "Cookies told us it drove up their edibles revenue. ... It's real popular with tourists, because we wanted [our packaging] to be real elegant to where you could just sit it on your counter. People don't really know us and they buy our sauce," Matthews says. "We're gonna do a whole condiment line eventually. We're just trying to bridge that gap between food and weed.

"The barbecue sauce is just something I came up with a long time ago in college, just playing with different recipes. The wing sauce, as well," Dawkins adds.
While some might take this moment to reflect, the pair is staying focused on the future. "All this stuff that's happening right now is written down in a notebook somewhere from like four or five years ago," Matthews says. "The restaurant was always the end goal." Now their goalposts have shifted, with plans to increase the sauce line and produce it in higher quantities, open other Saucy's restaurant locations and add merchandising. "We're down the street from the first Chipotle ever, so it's a great start," he adds wryly.

He and Dawkins are making the most of their Colorado experience and making friends along the way. Another barbecue joint, Ragin' Hog BBQ, lets them store equipment and make sauce in its commissary kitchen. "Even if we try to pay them, they won't accept it," Matthews says.

"They're basically our family here," Dawkins notes.

To better reach Denver's vast Spanish-speaking population, the owners translated their menu and started learning a little Spanish themselves. "We dealt with that many people [visiting the food truck] who just couldn't speak English. They loved us and were willing to teach us," Dawkins says.

Whatever comes next for this Saucy dynamic duo is sure to include good barbecue, weed and a lot of smiles. "We can cook great," Dawkins concludes. "Why not come out here and take advantage of the opportunity?"