It won’t be long now until the Perry branch of Bett and Bev’s BBQ, the popular smokehouse barbecue restaurant in Jefferson, opens its doors at 408 First Ave., just south of the Verizon store.
“We’re just waiting on the state to come and inspect us,” said franchise owner Kyle Roeder Saturday as he and his dad, Jeff Roeder, put the finishing touches on the 1,000-square-foot eatery.
Kyle Roeder said the state inspectors might arrive as early as June 25, but he plans in any case definitely to be open over the Fourth of July and Sesquicentennial Celebrations in Perry.
“We want to help feed the holiday mood with our super smoked meats,” he said.
Among the beauties of the restaurant are a new commercial-grade cooler and freezer combination that will soon be bursting with beef, pork and chicken and a classic wood-fired smoker, made in Holstein, Iowa, that will soon be making the Bett and Bev’s BBQ motto — “Smoked slow . . . Served fast!” — come true for Perry diners.
Although Roeder studied vocal music at Drake University and gave up a promising operatic career to move home and own and operate a restaurant, he says he could not be happier serving smoked chicken, prime rib, baby back ribs — all the smoked meats Iowans love — to Perry-area customers at prices that are very family friendly.
