Chef Erica Barrett opens barbecue pop-up after winning Food Network show

With the Friday opening of SO’QUE, her Buckhead barbecue pop-up, Erica Barrett is expanding her Southeastern food empire.

Located in the parking lot of Sauce Buckhead, Barrett’s pop-up will be open Fridays and Saturdays from noon until all food is sold out. Her kitchen: a big red outdoor smoker built by Georgia-based Primitive Pits.

Barrett’s cooking technique starts with marinating ribs or spatchcocked chicken for 40 hours. She uses live fire from apple or cherry wood to cook meats and sides slow-and-low. Every dish is made and cooked fresh, from baked beans with ground turkey to macaroni and cheese.

Credit: Primitive Pits

A native of Mobile, Alabama, who moved to Atlanta to attend Clark Atlanta University in 2000, Barrett hopes SO’QUE, her debut to the Atlanta food scene, will turn into a culinary playground.

“I’m a Southern gal with a global palette. I’m pouring my heart out because this is my first really big view of people tasting my food in Atlanta,” Barrett said.

Barrett conceived SO’QUE as a food truck while competing on season five of “BBQ Brawl,” an outdoor cooking competition airing on Food Network. On the show’s September 2 season finale, Barrett was declared the season’s winner and named “Master of Que” after preparing a Caribbean-inspired feast for the judges.

Credit: Food Network

Barrett credits the mentorship of restaurateur, TV chef and “BBQ Brawl” series creator Bobby Flay, who provided guidance on pickling, experimenting with global ingredients and showcasing her range of kitchen skills.

“It has taken my food to another dimension,” she said.

Credit: Food Network

Barrett’s intro to the food industry came in 2012, when she created Southern Culture Artisan Foods, a line of retail breakfast food products. Two years later, the caterer pitched her company on ABCs “Shark Tank” and got offers from hosts Kevin O’Leary and Barbara Corcoran. Exposure from the show created a spike in sales.

In 2019, Barrett opened SoCu Kitchen and Oyster Bar, a brick-and-mortar restaurant in downtown Mobile specializing in elevated seafood and comfort food. The restaurant will reopen Sept. 15 with 10 menu additions, including New Orleans barbecue shrimp.

By 2021, Barrett realized she wanted to consult entrepreneurs, so she opened a packaging facility in Decatur to chefs and food providers wanting to manufacture products.

Ebony Austin, Barrett’s first client, launch assorted grits that are now sold in Food Lion and Publix. Barrett added Toast on Lenox, Magic City Kitchen and Nana’s Chicken-N-Waffles to her client roster.

“I like seeing entrepreneurs create products and [make] their dreams come true,” Barrett said.

Barrett persevered as an entrepreneur in her own right. In 2022, she was asked by developers in Birmingham to help launch Dough Boy Pizza , a fast-casual pizza restaurant. She opened its first location, a 100-square-foot space, in Birmingham for $15,000. She knew the idea should be franchised.

In February, Barrett and radio personality Ryan Cameron opened Atlanta’s first Dough Boy Pizza franchise location at South Dekalb Mall. A second location, coming to the Lee and White food hall on Sept. 24, will feature craft beer from Harlem Hops, a Black-owned craft beer bar founded in New York.

Ryan Cameron opens Dough Boy at South DeKalb Mall (ajc.com)

Barrett met her new franchisees, also members of her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., in college. She says she hopes to open a Dough Boy Pizza location on campus.

“Going to CAU was the best decision that I ever made. Now, we’re bringing our talents together to make magic happen. We’re paying homage to where we learned how to find a way or make one,” she said.

On her way to opening a Phoenix location of Dough Boy Pizza in November, the serial entrepreneur hopes to do more television and expand SoCu into a hotel.

“I just want people to be able to taste my food. I don’t know where it will take me but it’s how I communicate and show people that I love them. This is only the beginning,” Barrett said.

Noon. Friday, Sept. 13. Sauce Buckhead, 25 Irby Avenue NW, Atlanta. 404-343-2463.

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