Cheese biscuits at Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q. (Photo courtesy of Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q) BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Throughout 2012, as the Alabama Tourism Department celebrates "The Year of Alabama Food," The Birmingham News will spotlight some of the restaurants, cafes, bistros and bakeries on the list of "100 Dishes To Eat in Alabama Before You Die."
This is a weekly series that appears Fridays in City Scene.
Locations: Seven in the Birmingham metro area, plus additional locations in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
On the menu: Barbecue sandwiches and plates, including pulled pork, chicken, brisket, ribs and hot links; sides include baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and collard greens.
Hours: Vary by location.
A little history: Nick Pihakis, who had worked his way from bartender to management at Rossi's Italian Restaurant, and his dad, Jim Pihakis, who had retired from the insurance business, opened their first Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q restaurant in a former Pasquale's Pizza location on Clairmont Avenue in Birmingham in 1985. "That was such a neighborhood restaurant," Nick Pihakis recalls. "It snowed one time and my employees couldn't get to work, and our customers came in and helped me open the restaurant." The restaurant later relocated to Lakeview, and Jim 'N Nick's eventually settled in to its current location in Five Points South.
Growth strategy: From that original barbecue joint on the Southside, Jim 'N Nick's has grown to include 29 locations in seven states. A 30th will open soon in Franklin, Tenn. Each of the operating partners has an ownership in the restaurant, and most of them have worked their way through the ranks at Jim 'N Nick's. "I think that's been the secret to our success," Pihakis says. "They have a real ownership. If you walk into one of our restaurants and say, I would like to talk to the owner,' they are there. Those guys really care because they've got skin in the game."
Community spirit: Jim 'N Nick's has long been a corporate sponsor of the Southern Foodways Alliance, which promotes and preserves the food traditions of the South. Other favorite food causes include Birmingham's Pepper Place Saturday Market and Jones Valley Teaching Farm. "We've always been very community-driven," Pihakis says. "We've supported the community, and our community has supported us."
Dish to eat before you die: While barbecue is the big draw, Jim 'N Nick's is also famous for its scratch-made cheese biscuits, a complimentary basket of which is served at every table. "We could run out of pork and people would not get as mad as they would if we ran out of cheese biscuits," Pihakis says. "People just love them." Pihakis got the recipe from a friend in the food business about 15 years ago, and after a little tinkering, he made it his own. "I just started messing around with it and adding cheese and adding sugar to make it a little bit richer, and it just developed over the years to be a favorite." For those who want to make some at home, the biscuit mix is available at the restaurants and online for $5.99 a bag.
Website: www.jimnnicks.com.
Email Bob Carlton at bcarlton@bhamnews.com