🐄 WHAT'S COOKING: JR's Place was the go-to on game day, now food truck takes BBQ on road

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Ervin Yoder Jr. and his wife, Elsie, have put their love for cooking and serving together to create JR's Place Barbecue, a popular food truck based in Holmes County.

Yoder learned to cook as the youngest of nine kids growing up in Holmes County.

When he was living in Sarasota, Florida, he helped a friend who had a restaurant. He also hosted friends for football games, providing the meals as long as the friends did the dishes.

"He asked me if I knew anything about cooking, and I said sure," Yoder said about his Florida friend. "He put me in the kitchen, and the next thing I knew, I was head cook for two years. I enjoyed it. I always liked to barbecue and cook."

Yoder took later took a job hauling furniture, but when he needed to get a hip replaced, his doctor told him he should to find a new career path.

"I had always dreamed about doing something like this, so Elsie and I talked about it and put this together," he said. "We started about three years ago, and it really took off. This was our second full year, and this has been our best year yet."

Football game days enjoyed at JR's Place

The name JR's Place came from his days of hosting football game days with his friends, because everyone enjoyed going to JR's Place, he said.

JR's Place Barbecue sets up shop every Thursday in the parking lot at Save & Serve in Millersburg. The truck's schedule fills in around that. JR's caters events, like a recent volleyball tournament where it provided the food, and it has gone as far as Pennsylvania to serve meals.

Two years ago, the first time it entered the Columbus Rib Pork Cook off, JR's won reserve champion.

Brisket is popular, along with pulled pork and Kickin' Yoder Burger

The No. 1 item on the menu is the brisket, sold with cowboy beans and Elsie's homemade coleslaw, or brisket tacos. JR's also offers a brisket sandwich, along with pulled pork or the Kickin' Yoder Burger.

The cowboy beans are another popular item, smoked and delicious, with just the right kick.

"When we do events with other food trucks and trailers, we have a lot of fun," Yoder said. "We're not out to be competitive, but more to help each other. We all offer a little something different."

Yoder thanked Sam Yoder, owner of Berlin Gardens, for making space available in the vacant lot at the west end of town next to Dutch Cupboard for food trucks. Jr's Place Barbecue sets up shop there the second Tuesday of month and whenever his schedule allows.

"The locals love it," he said. "As do the workers at Berlin Gardens. It's a nice benefit for everyone there."

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This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: 🐄 WHAT'S COOKING: JR's Place was the go-to on game day, now food truck takes BBQ on road