By December, customers should be able to order barbecued chicken at Three Little Pigs Bar-B-Q.
That’s just one of the new items slated to be added to the menu. For the first time since 1989, the iconic restaurant at 5145 Quince Road has new owners. NaMario Yancey and his brother, Napoleon Yancey, bought the restaurant October 7th.
“My brother, when he tried the food, said, ‘This place has the best breakfast, burgers, and barbecue.’ Like the three B’s,” says NaMario. “And it actually made sense.”
Napoleon was first to discover the restaurant was for sale. “My brother saw a listing ‘For Sale’ under business and Three Little Pigs was one of them. He just told me when he was looking at it. We saw great potential from the start.”
The sale of Three Little Pigs Bar-B-Q follows the sales of other legendary Memphis eating spots, including The Pancake Shop, Leonard’s Pit Barbecue, and Bryant’s Breakfast.
Three Little Pigs originally was a Loeb’s barbecue restaurant when it opened in 1968, says former owner Charlie Robertson. Around 1982, Jack Whitaker, who owned the nearby Yorkshire Launderette, bought the restaurant. Robertson bought the restaurant from Whitaker in 1989.
“Jack is the one who changed the name to ‘Three Little Pigs,’” Robertson says.
Asked why he decided to sell the restaurant, Robertson says, “Well, I guess (I’m) just tired. Ready to slow down. Not work as much.”
And, he says, “The help situation is another big thing. You can’t get any help. Can’t get anybody to work. Everybody’s got that problem.”
Robertson will still be at the restaurant, though. “Oh, yeah. I’m going to work part time there.”
NaMario wasn’t skeptical about buying Three Little Pigs. “I was not dubious because I’ve been in the business for 23 years, selling barbecue and selling food, so we were going to make it work,” he says. “My dad started his own concession business in 1999: Yancey’s Cool Stuff & More.”
NaMario says they’ve sold at the Delta Fair, Mid-South Fair, Bluff City Fair, Mud Island Amphitheater, Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival, and Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. “We’ve been all over this city for a long time.”
He and his three brothers continue to work at their dad’s concession business. They sell “funnel cakes, corn dogs, barbecue nachos, turkey legs, chicken on a stick, Polish sausage, all your fair items.”
NaMario got in his dad’s business when he was in the fourth grade. “Started off making snowballs.”
He’d only eaten at Three Little Pigs once before buying the business, and that was several years ago, when he was taking a University of Memphis elective bowling class at Billy Hardwick’s All-Star Lanes, right next door. “I had the cheeseburger,” he recalls.
NaMario ate at Three Little Pigs for the second time just before he and Napoleon bought the business. “It’s actually a different perspective when you’re going to buy than when you’re going to eat.” Usually, people aren’t thinking about purchasing the business when they go out to eat at a restaurant. “You’re going to get what you want and that’s it.”
But he and Napoleon wanted to check out everything: “The employees and how they greet you and how they smile. They know customers by name and they know what they’re going to order before they get there.”
NaMario ordered barbecue on that visit. “I thought it was great.”
They won’t change the barbecue. “The original is staying the original because that is what the taste is for the customers.” But they are planning to add a selection of different sauces.
The first thing NaMario did after they bought Three Little Pigs was to get in the kitchen and see how breakfast was done. “I hadn’t been there for breakfast, and it was a great experience. The police officers coming in and the firefighters. And the early morning line workers were in there. I took over the griddle from watching Mr. Charlie my first day. Just to get into it. I did well. I’ve been cooking for 23 years, so it was easy to catch on and cook.”
So far, NaMario and Napoleon haven’t made any changes. But they will be eventually be offering new items. “I’m going to add grilled chicken to the menu,” says NaMario. “And charcoal`smoked and hickory-smoked turkey legs.” He also plans to add beef brisket, and macaroni and cheese, as well as some new desserts.
Nothing is leaving the menu, NaMario says. “If I got rid of something, you never know the backlash you might get on it. It’s there for a reason.” It had been a while since anything new was added to the restaurant’s menu. “I guess they were keeping it simple. And it worked.”
NaMario has a ballpark date when he he’s going to begin carrying more food items. “I’m trying to push before Thanksgiving adding items,” he says. “If anything, by the beginning of December.” As for the restaurant itself, NaMario says, “I do want to add some TV and music.”
He wants customers to be able to watch the University of Memphis Tigers and Memphis Grizzlies games. “People get to-go orders on game day. They grab barbecue to go. Why not create a place where customers can stay and watch the Grizzlies and the Tigers.”
So, what about franchising Three Little Pigs Bar-B-Q? All NaMario will say is, “The sky’s the limit. The potential is great.”
Michael Donahue