Here’s the lowdown on Scotty’s Whole Hog Barbecue: the Northfield-based bbq operation has moved to the Lowdown, the basement space in Northfield’s Armory, smack in the middle of downtown.
Local barbecue master Scott Barvir has made the commercial kitchen there his command center, from which he will serve his unique wood-fired whole hog slow-roasted meats and sides once per month.
Since 2019, Barvir has been rotating his barbecue operation from Northfield’s spirits and suds establishments: Keepsake Cidery, Loon Liquors Distillery and Imminent Brewing.
“I was moving around a lot, and for a while I teamed up with Loon Liquors,” he said. That partnership, which lasted over two summers and included a few winter pop ups, allowed him to park his Texas-style smoker, his North Carolina hog cooker and his trailer for wood on the adjacent parking lot to the south of Loon Liquors, 1325 Armstrong Road, Suite 165.
“I invested in more equipment and grew a lot during my time with Loon Liquors,” he said.
As a native Northfielder, Barvir also likes to give back to his community. For the last four years he’s offered his bbq during the annual Defeat of Jesse James Days. He’s cooked for Earth Day, the Heywood bike ride, Laura Baker’s annual gala, to name just a few of the community events held each year in Northfield.
“Scotty is amazing,” said Andrei Sivanich, Director of Community Relations, Laura Baker Services Association. “I really admire all he does and has done for the community.”
Sivanich said he first heard of Scotty’s BBQ when he went to his BBQ stand out by Loon Liquors. “When I got there he was almost sold out of food but when I learned that he was donating proceeds from that day to a local nonprofit (maybe the CAC?) I got some scraps of what was remaining to help out. That made an impression on me, cause I really admire businesses that give back to the community.”
That initial meeting has been beneficial to both parties, he explained. For the last four years, Scotty’s Backyard BBQ has been a popular auction item at LBSA’s annual gala. In addition, Barvir was the food vendor for LBSA’s Flannel Gala last year.
“Now these events have become super popular and go for big bucks at our Gala. In fact, his BBQ events at our Gala have raised $39,740 for LBSA,” said Sivanich. “Not only is he charitable but his BBQ is some of the best I have ever had.”
A quirky commodity
“Barbeque is quirky, it’s unlike anything else in the food world,” Barvir explained sitting outside the Lowdown’s commercial kitchen.
He has learned that to properly cook a whole hog brisket using the unique all-wood method — a 14 hour process — takes persistence and perseverance.
Barbeque is popular, he said, but not in Minnesota. Foodies in places like Texas, Kansas City and North Carolina appreciate the time, patience and hard work that goes into the process of cooking a whole hog on an open fire pit using all-wood.
“We have to build a culture for barbeque here,” he said. “The process is slow, which means long wait times and long lines. But the process is meant to be slow. That’s why I’m excited for the partnership with the Armory to create a place where we can come together.”
Over the winter, Barvir said he had time to think and reconfigure the logistics for his business which he’s very passionate about expanding. That’s when he reached out to John and Liz Reppe, owners of the Armory Square Events Center, about renting the commercial kitchen in the Lowdown once a month.
“We’re excited to have Scotty providing BBQ at our space,” said Liz Reppe. “He’s really dedicated to the barbeque craft and always turns out really excellent food. It’s wonderful that we have access to this amazing barbeque in Northfield. The bonus for us is we get to pre-order before everyone else, so we don’t miss out on our favorites!”
Barvir said he’s looking forward to better weather this spring and summer when he can provide his wood-fired, slow-cooked barbecues to Armory Square patrons who might be attending an event or a concert, as well as to his broad range of loyal customers he stays in contact with through social media posts.
He said he is even considering starting a lunch service so that he might be able to capture some of the noontime foot traffic. “I have a unique set up that is so centralized,” he said. “I might as well keep doing it and keep tweaking it.”
A townie and an Ole
A Northfield native and St. Olaf College graduate, Barvir’s family life is his primary focus, which nicely fits his once-a-month bbq service schedule. He and his wife, a pediatrician, are parents to Wes, 4 and Olive, 2.
Prior to diving into the world of barbecue, Barvir was a restaurant server at the restaurant located where Gran Plaza is now, and a pizza chef at the Ole Store.
His tastes and focus turned to learning about barbecue during the 12 years he and his wife lived in Des Moines during her medical school residency. Barvir said a friend, who was a chef from Bangladesh, encouraged him to open a BBQ restaurant in the Iowa capitol city.
The couple moved back to Northfield in 2017, and Barvir keep researching barbeque cooking styles and methods,
Derek Meyers, co-owner of Imminent Brewery, said Northfield is “very lucky” to have Scotty’s BBQ here. “I’m no expert, but it is some of the best BBQ I’ve ever had, and I know a lot of folks agree, because whenever we have him at the brewery, there’s a long line of customers happily waiting for pork, brisket, ribs or even some slaw and hushpuppies.”
Meyers said the time Barvir spends preparing the sauces and dry rubs before the cook is “simply astounding.”
The actual barbecuing is another story altogether, explained Meyers. “Scotty gathers piles of oak and smokes at precise and low temperatures for long periods of time, often overnight, so that everything is ready to go the next day at the perfect time. He has an amazing dedication to his craft.”
Loon Liquor Co. is a Northfield, Minnesota based craft distillery, owned and operated by its two co-founders Simeon Rossi and Mark Schiller. The company was established in 2011 and has been producing quality spirits since 2014.
Rossi said Loon Liquors definitely saw a bump in traffic when Barvir was cooking. “He’s a real craftsman,” he said. “And, he does it all by hand, using hardwood in the open pit. He does it the hard way, like we do,” which involves making their spirits from scratch using locally-sourced organic ingredients while being environmentally conscious of their production methods.
Rossi said Barvir’s unique style of cooking was unusual for Minnesota; it’s more like the North Carolina style.
“You can taste the smoke and the wood in his meat,” he said. “It’s authentic.”
To celebrate the collaboration, Rossi said they invented a unique cocktail menu with sweet teas, a seasonal lemonade and a special old fashioned that paired well with the barbeque.
Schiller called Barvir “a true pit master,” pulling long nights and early mornings tending to the cook process.
“Our customers loved it,” Schiller said. “His barbeque pulled in an audience that drove here from miles away — from the Twin Cities and all across Minnesota. His BBQ is phenomenal. He’s really one of the best in the nation.”
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