Although it's called Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q, the famous Bessemer landmark restaurant would not have survived without its matriarch, Maxine Sykes.
"She absolutely was the business person," said their son, Van Sykes. "He didn't care for that side of it."
Bob Sykes died in 1992, but he had not been able to work at the business since he had a stroke in 1970 at the age of 55. So for much of its existence, Maxine Sykes was the boss at the legendary Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q.
Maxine died on Jan. 17. She was 93. After Bob's death, Maxine sold the business to Van Sykes, who now runs its with his nephew, Jason Jewell.
Bob and Maxine Sykes married in 1942, then Bob went in the military to serve in World War II. Maxine worked as an inspector at an airplane manufacturer that produced military planes. "She was a line inspector; she crawled through that plane and checked circuits and wiring," Van Sykes said.
When the war ended, so did her job. "These women worked seven days a week, lots of overtime and took their paychecks and bought war bonds," Van Sykes said. "They were such a big part of World War II. But when the war ended they were told, 'You can't go back. The men are back.' They couldn't even come back in the building."
Bob Sykes worked as a bread delivery man after the war, until the bakery closed in 1956. That's when Bob and Maxine decided to open their first restaurant. In 1957, they opened The Ice Spot, which sold hamburgers and milkshakes in the Central Park neighborhood. "It became a teenage hangout," Van Sykes said. "The kids would buy a root beer and sit there for an hour. By 1964, Mother had it with waiting tables and getting nickel tips. She said, 'We're not making any money.'"
They moved five blocks away and opened Bob's Hickory Bar-B-Q, but had to give up their lease for a Roy Rogers Roast Beef restaurant. Bob went to work for a Kentucky Fried Chicken for a year to study the drive-through business model that intrigued him, while Maxine stocked sandwiches in vending machines. In 1967, they opened Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q in Bessemer.
Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q was a pioneer in Bessemer in using a drive-through window with a radio to take orders, and having people order at the register and take a number, Van Sykes said.
"It had 10 seats and a drive-through," Van Sykes said. "They had a World War II surplus radio. People would get out of their car and walk up to order. Daddy would tell them to get back in the car and drive up to the window. It was that foreign to people."
Maxine later bought property and moved to the current location, 1724 Ninth Avenue North, in 1977. She was adamant that they would never open on Sunday. "She said, 'Bob and I have a partner we've had for years. Jesus Christ is our partner.'"
At the time of Bob's stroke in 1970, the restaurant had franchised and had as many as 14 locations in Alabama and Tennessee. That turned out to be a burden for Maxine, who learned she had to pay rent on numerous locations.
"These deals were loosely strung together," Van Sykes said. "Mom was obligated to pay rent."
She was gradually able to get out of all those contracts, leaving Bob Sykes in Bessemer as the only location.
"She said, 'I can't go any further. I'm going to submit every burden and problem to Jesus. I'm going to let God handle the rest of it.'"
Maxine needed that spiritual strength to run the business by herself.
"She succeeded in a man's world," Van Sykes said. "When Daddy had that stroke, a woman did not go to the bank and get a loan in her name. He was disabled. She signed everything from that point. She always signed her checks 'Mrs. Bob Sykes.' She said, 'I worked hard for that name.'"
Maxine could be a tough businesswoman, Van Sykes said. "Her whole deal was making that profit," he said. "She always looked for that bottom line: 'You have to make a profit every month.'"
He recalled one time when Zeigler Meats shorted the restaurant on its meat order. Maxine called their office in Tuscaloosa and in her "sweet little voice" chewed out the chief executive. "Two cars drove up with meat in the trunk," Van said. "It was the CEO, Lackey Stephens. He said, 'I have never been told off in such a nice way.'"
The name Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q was Maxine's idea, Van Sykes said. "She always said anybody can be Bob's Bar-Bar-Q. You're the only one who can be Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q."
Bob created the recipes and cooking methods that are still used. "Daddy wanted the pit on the front," Van said. "He wanted people to see that meat cooking. You walk by that and you know it's got to be good."
Maxine sometimes felt her husband was the celebrity while she was running the business. "Daddy, his name was on there," Van said. "People gravitated to him. She brought organization to it."
So they got a neon clock, still displayed inside the restaurant, that says, "Bob and Maxine Too!" Later, the giant "Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q" sign in front of the business also had a panel added that says, "And Maxine Too... since 1957."
At the first of the month, before she paid any bills, Maxine always wrote a tithing check to Grant Street Baptist Church. "When we opened the new building, she dedicated it to the glory of God," Van Sykes said. "She said, 'You've always got hope in Christ.' She lived it."