‘Instant hit’ Utah chain is ‘full speed ahead’ with new Boise, Meridian restaurants

With most restaurants hunkered down in survival mode, talk of opening new locations is scarce.

Not at R&R BBQ. The growing regional chain is licking its chops.

“We are still full speed ahead with Idaho,” a spokesman said Thursday by email.

The award-winning barbecue brand, which operates eight Utah restaurants, is planning to make its first out-of-state expansion happen in the Gem State. This year.

A downtown Boise location will debut on the second floor of the Main + Marketplace building at 150 N. 8th St. It will be next to Tupelo Honey in a retooled vacant space that Boiseans remember as Shige Japanese Cuisine.

The other R&R BBQ will be at 3680 E. Fairview Ave. at The Village at Meridian. It will share a building with the Sleep Number store in the former Corner Bakery spot.

Both restaurants will be about 4,000 square feet. Both will include patio seating. Both are slated to open in late summer — possibly August, if all goes according to plan. (The coronavirus could impact that, of course.)

Most important? Both will serve mean ’cue.

To prove it, R&R BBQ proudly displays a list of awards on its website.

“We have a pit boss in every location that manages the smokers,” said Alonso Castañeda, VP of brand development and strategy for Four Foods Group, “and we’re smoking daytime and nighttime. It’s a full-blown, full-service kitchen operation — served in a fast-casual setting.”

R&R BBQ was founded by Rod and Roger Livingston, who grew up in California. In Utah, the twin brothers made a name as traveling barbecue chefs, racking up victories on the competition circuit. “They actually won a few in Idaho,” Castañeda said in a phone interview.

At first, the twins drove a trailer to catering events. That evolved into a catering company.

In 2011, they finally opened their first brick-and-mortal restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City.

“It was an instant hit,” Castañeda said.

The Livingstons launched a second restaurant in South Jordan before realizing that a business partner might be prudent. In 2016, restaurant operator Four Foods Group acquired 51 percent of R&R BBQ. Since then, six more restaurants have opened in four years, Castañeda said.

R&R BBQ isn’t chained to the grill by a certain style. But the Livingstons seem to have a gift for Texas barbecue. What truly sets the R&R concept apart, besides mouthwatering eats, is menu variety, Castañeda said.

Along with smoked brisket, ribs, pork and sausage, R&R serves brisket tacos. Nachos. There’s smoked prime rib on Mondays. The restaurant makes giant, in-house-breaded onion rings. There’s fresh fried okra. From-scratch hush puppies, too.

Don’t miss the boneless chicken, Castañeda said. “These guys have a technique to pump out some delicious boneless chicken.”

But the game-changer arguably is the Caveman Burger ($12.99): 1/3 pound of smoked beef with smoked sausage, smoked pulled pork, fried jalapenos and melted Jack cheese, slathered in sweet barbecue sauce.

The two Idaho restaurants aren’t R&R BBQ’s only planned growth in 2020. Two more restaurants also are coming in Utah.

But Gem State success is something R&R BBQ is anticipating excitedly, Castañeda said.

“It’s our first expansion out of Utah. We can support it well with our teams that are nearby. They have relationships there already. They’ve won competitions in Idaho.

“It’s just a natural progression.”

This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM.