For those lamenting food options in the St. Michael and Albertville areas, your menu just got a little sweeter, smokier and sassier all at the same time.
The Albertville City Council Monday night approved a beer and wine liquor license for Hardy’s Barbecue, a traditional hangout for southern food lovers down in … Rochester, Minnesota?
Yep, Hardy’s, started by John Hardy, operates two locations in the medical mecca, but both pale in comparison in size to the restaurant they’ll be taking over this winter.
“It will be our biggest location by far,” said a spokesperson representing the restaurant’s ownership. “They’ll make a lot of changes, inside and out, and the hope is to have it up and running by January of 2015.
The John Hardy story is one of barbecue lore. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Hardy moved north with a foundry company job to Buffalo, New York. He cooked barbecue on the side, eventually feeding workers at sites around New York. He wound up later in Minnesota, where in 1972 he opened his first restaurant on Third Street Southeast in Rochester. It became the stuff of local legend.
A second location followed, and Hardy continued to experiment with his own sauces and smoking meats with cherry and apple woods.
The menu here, in Albertville, will be inspired by Hardy’s in Rochester. John passed away in the 1980s, but the legend, the company states, continues.
The restaurant will not have a full bar – just beer, wine and malt beverages (such as Mike’s) – but will have a bar area. The menu will include fish, smoked meats (done right on site) , burgers, salads and the standard appetizers.
Hardy’s will also offer catering services for everything from graduation parties to weddings and birthdays, and anywhere in between. The hope will be, with the timing, to pick up a couple of big Super Bowl parties, perhaps.
JLC expects the new location to employ about 40 people.
“It will be a great community asset,” the spokesperson, who asked not to be named, said. “We really think it will fit in well with what Albertville and St. Michael have now.”
For more information on John Hardy’s Barbecue, check out the website.