Green Mountain GrillsWhy We Opened a Barbecue Shop Inside a Mall (and What Year One Taught Us)
People told us malls were dead and nobody shops local anymore. One year in, a 20 square foot display had turned into a 1,000 square foot store with a billboard on the I-90. Here is the story, mostly in Pat's words.
"You're opening where?"
That was the reaction, more or less, when we told people a barbecue supply store was going into the McKinley Mall. Malls are dead. Nobody shops local anymore. Barbecue cannot survive a Western New York winter.
One year later we stood in the store and said thank you to the people who proved every one of those wrong. This is the short version of how it happened, why we did it here, and what we learned in the first 365 days.
How a 20 square foot display became a 1,000 square foot store
Buffalo Barbecue Quest did not start as a store. It started as a 20 square foot BBQ supply display inside Decked Out WNY, our sister business in the same mall.
The display sold. It kept selling. In December 2024 we announced that the 20 square feet were becoming a 1,000 square foot BBQ supply department, and on January 21, 2025 we fired up the pits and opened the doors.
The idea was never complicated. Western New York cooks outside more than anyone gives it credit for, and the sauces, rubs, charcoal and gear were scattered across hardware stores, grocery aisles and the internet. Nobody had put them in one room with somebody behind the counter who actually uses them.
What people said would go wrong
Pat put it plainly on our first anniversary.
A lot of people told us we were nuts to open here. They said malls were dead. They said nobody shops local anymore. They said barbecue couldn't survive in Western New York year round.Pat, one year in
Each one had a grain of truth. Malls have changed. Online is easy. January in Buffalo is January in Buffalo.
The thing they missed is that a mall is foot traffic with a roof on it, and a barbecue shop is a place people want to hang out in. Somebody comes in for charcoal and leaves having tasted three sauces and argued about pellets for twenty minutes. That does not happen on a website.
What year one actually looked like
Pat's list from the anniversary: game day parties, family cookouts, competitions, charity events, and countless meals made with a little more pride and a lot more flavor.
Behind that list were the habits that turned a store into a community. Free tastings most Saturdays from 11 to 4, so nobody has to buy a sauce blind. A sauce wall that grew every month as local makers found us. A monthly Promo Week. A shelf we ask customers to fill.
And the regulars. Pat names them the same way every time: the backyard pitmasters, the first timers, the sauce samplers, the pellet talkers, and the folks who just stop in to say hello.
The billboard on the 90
In July 2026 the first Buffalo Barbecue Quest billboard went up on the I-90. "The BBQ supply destination. Period."
Pat stood under it and said what a lot of small business owners feel and few say out loud.
I never imagined I'd see my business on an interstate billboard, but every long day and long night resulted in this. This isn't the finish line. This is just proof that showing up every day really builds up success. Dream big, start small, and keep going.Pat, July 2026
If you spot it, take a photo and tag us. We still get a kick out of it.
How to find us inside the McKinley Mall
The most watched video we have ever posted is a walk through the mall to our door, because the question we get more than any other is "how do I get to your store?"
The video walks it from the parking lot to our door, and any mall entrance gets you there. We are at 3701 McKinley Parkway, Blasdell, NY 14219, inside the mall. Hours are on our contact page, and they change with the season, so check before a long drive.
Pit note
Wacky Wheel Wednesdays: buy anything on a Wednesday, spin the wheel at checkout, and there is a 50/50 chance you walk out with free meat sticks, a sauce, a rub, a sale table item, or 5 to 10 percent off the order.
What year two is for
More smoke, more flavor, more fun, and more memories, to borrow the anniversary line. In practice that means more local makers on the wall, more cooking on camera, custom grills, and this blog, which exists because the questions we answer at the counter deserve a longer answer than a reel allows.
Thank you for believing in a small business, for shopping local, and for being part of the quest. If you have not stopped in yet, now is the time. From our backyard pit to yours, let's keep that fire burning.
