Rogue BBQ opens in Homestead

Barbecue is back in Homestead.

Rogue BBQ opened Wednesday at 601 Amity St. in the space of the former Blue Dust Gastropub across from The Waterfront.

The full-service eatery is owned and operated by married couple Amanda and Zachary Steiner.

They said there are really no good barbecue options in the Homestead area and they’re excited to provide authentic, specialty barbecue and more.

The couple live in West Mifflin and relocated their business from the Westwood Golf Club to Homestead.

Additionally, they recently signed a four-year lease with their Rogue BBQ location inside Kennywood.

Rogue can accommodate about 60 diners and offers a full bar.

Opening night specials include $1.25 smoked wings and 60-cent fried wings.

They decided to go with the rogue moniker due to its translation of doing what’s unexpected.

“We kicked around a lot of names but we ended up with Rogue to be able to give us lateral movement on the interpretation of the BBQ that we do,” said pitmaster Zachary Steiner. “Just about any type of cuisine has some type of fire-driven or smoke component and cooking style for meat.”

Zachary Steiner, 48, opened Rogue in 2012 after explaining to his wife that his calling was barbecue.

“I told her this is what I want to do,” he said.

The business started with four catering events and one smoker.

Rogue was awarded first place in the King of Wings competition for dry rub in 2016 and 2017.

They introduced the Rogue food truck labeled “Hardcore Wings N’At” in 2018.

The couple met working at the same restaurant at the Waterfront.

Married for 16 years, Amanda handles the front-of-the-house managerial operations and has worked in food and beverage as a career.

“I’m a lifer in this industry and knew from when I was 18 I would do this,” she said. “It’s full circle to come back to the Waterfront area.”

Barbecue specialties include brisket, pulled pork, smoked chicken wings, ribs, pork belly burnt ends and weekly Friday night features.

Non-smoked options include vegan tacos, salads, sliders and creative appetizers like fried green tomatoes, smoked brisket nachos and smoked chicken taquitos.

Barbecue sauces include peach habanero, bourbon, Alabama white and black and gold.

“We are not the folks that make 12 or more sauces. We’re known for our dry rubs, brisket and finishing dusts. We smoke based on the size of the animal, anywhere from 12-16 hours — slow and low,” Zachary Steiner said.

They’ve hired about 20 employees for the new location.

Remodeling included an overhaul of the interior minus the bar structure, adding lots of wood with a modern industrial vibe.

Their two teenage children, Catherine and Scarlett Steiner, are pitching in to help their parents.

“They’ve been helping out since they were big enough to reach the smoker,” Zachary Steiner said.

The bar will stay open until midnight during the week and on weekends until 2 a.m.

“I’m most excited about taking a step out of the shadow that was Westwood (club) because although we ran our commissary out of Westwood when we did catering and festivals, we always had to say we were on a golf course and we would lose some of them, it would fall on deaf ears,” Zachary Steiner. “This is without question the largest transition of our professional careers.”

Rogue BBQ will continue to offer catering.