When Prized Pig customers Faith and Michael Kobrehel heard that the barbecue restaurant was officially closing its doors on Feb. 14, the couple said they were “stunned and devastated.”
The authentic barbecue joint was owned by Jeremy Vohwinkle and opened in December of 2013.
Customers received little inclination as to why the restaurant was closing its doors.
A post on Facebook from Feb. 14 stated that the restaurant was closed and “would not be reopening in the foreseeable future.”
The restaurant had planned to open a second space in Mishawaka, but announced in the same post that those plans were also cancelled.
“We have enjoyed so much serving our community in the past three years,” the post stated. “We adore our customers and supporters, and it is not without a long and hard fight, making sure there were no other options, before we had to make the decision to close.”
But on Thursday there was hope, as Faith and Michael no longer had to miss out on the barbecue that they so enjoyed.
Parked in front of the Prized Pig, a yellow food truck bearing the name Smokin’ D’s BBQ sat in the parking lot, with the scent of smoked barbecue emanating from it.
With Vohwinkle’s permission, former Prized Pig pit master Kyle Davey, opened up the food truck for business.
“The barbecue is way too good to let it go,” Kyle said.
Kyle has been operating the food truck with his wife Lisa Davey. The couple said they plan to continue to run the food truck in Niles, offering pork burnt ends, wings and other barbecue items, with the same Prized Pig taste.
Kyle has been in food business for 20 years, including in fine dining and barbecue, where Kyle said he found his true passion.
“Barbecue has been my greatest love since learning to cook,” he said.
Using a traditional southern smoking technique, the meat is cooked for 12 hours, soaking in the flavor from apple and white oak. Smaller meat portions from chicken are smoked for two and a half hours.
In addition to barbecue, Smokin’ D’s food truck will offer sides like baked beans and corn bread and macaroni and cheese.
On Thursday, the Kobrehels made a 40-mile journey from their home in Elkhart to pick up some burnt ends on Thursday afternoon.
The couple has been visiting the Prized Pig for the past two years.
The couple knows Kyle and Lisa Davey personally and was glad to hear that the food truck would be carrying on the same Prized Pig taste.
“[We] got really, really excited to see that the legend will live on with these guys in the truck,” Faith said.
The couple said what they always enjoyed about the flavor of the barbecue was the cooked-from-scratch taste.
“It is good stuff,” Faith said.
The food truck will next be located in front of the JT Motors at 2555 S. 11th St. starting March 1. The truck will serve from noon, until they are sold out.
For Kyle it is not just about the food, but the atmosphere of comfort that barbecue is known for, he said.
“That is really the atmosphere that I want to bring out,” Faith said. “The family gathering, everybody kind of hanging out and talking.”
There is not a website yet, but Kyle and Lisa plan to launch one in the next couple of days.