Restaurant of the Month: Q Southern BBQ & Catering
Owner Cameron Capri stands in front of his two smokers.
Owner Cameron Capri has been in hospitality 23 years. He’s a Dunedin native, who grew up playing baseball and going to school with some other local Dunedin restaurant owners. Though his work took him from Tampa to Chicago, from ice cream to Spanish and Italian cuisines and catering, he came back to Dunedin, where bar-b-que has been his mainstay for the last 10 years.
“We are a scratch kitchen, and we do everything here in-house,” Cameron said. “All meats are smoked in our two smokers out back. With the meats, we keep to the regional bar-b-que style: Texas-style beef brisket, North Carolina Lexington-style pork, St. Louis-style ribs.”
They don’t skimp on food quality. You won’t find cheap cuts of beef here. “We use certified Angus beef; prime beef from Iowa.”
Top left: Two smokers that are used at Q Southern BBQ. Top right: Pulled chicken sandwich. Bottom left: Burnt Ends. Bottom right: Mac-N-Cheese, Bourbon Baked Beans and cup of Burnt Ends.
There’s a lot of prep work involved, as big cuts of meat are cooked 24 hours a day: beef, ribs, pork and chicken. Then there’s the Burnt Ends, they are special. “People who know ‘em, know ‘em,” Cameron laughed.
I wasn’t entirely sure what they are so Cameron explained: “They are derived from the point end of the brisket, so there’s only about 1.5 pounds of them from each brisket. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have the volume to be able to serve them every day, so they are only a Friday-Saturday thing, and they go fast!”
My teammate, Bill Parker, was quick to mention that he preorders his Burnt Ends so he doesn’t miss out.
Cameron said: “We take pride in what we do. We do everything in small batches, so that’s why sometimes you may come by at 8 at night and we might be sold out of something. It’s all made same day.”
All the meat is dry rubbed and smoked, and you add sauce according to your preference. There are six to choose from, along with suggested pairings. This summer Cameron will add another bar-b-que sauce, but he’ll let Dunedin choose. He will offer two options to vote on: One features orange, the other berry. The winner will be added to the sauce menu. Yes, we know Dunedin likes its oranges, but you’ll have to come by and give them both a try before casting your vote. More information on the voting is still to come, so stop by in person or watch their website https://qbycapri.com/
“We pride ourselves on taking the staples from all genres of Southern bar-b-que. All of our sauces are made in-house, and all regions are represented. We created our own Tampa Q, which is an espresso coffee blend that pays homage to our coffee trade here in Ybor City.” Cameron Capri, owner.
Let’s talk sides. They serve the classics, all scratch made. Their Mac-N-Cheese has become a favorite among other local chefs. There’s Bourbon baked beans, slaw, potato salad, corn, tots, true Southern collard greens, and let’s not forget the Brunswick Stew. I wasn’t familiar with this, so I asked Cameron to describe it. “It’s a traditional Southern stew that’s made from the leftovers from the previous day’s bar-b-que,” he said. “There’s no real recipe. We add potatoes, peas, corn, chicken, pork. Any leftover pork goes into the baked beans and collard greens so it all gets used.” Zero waste is a big deal when you use expensive, high-quality ingredients.
Q Southern BBQ feels like an established, well-seasoned operation when you walk in. It’s hard to believe it has only been open for business for 15 months; the official opening was three weeks before the pandemic.
“We had three strong weeks before everything shut down,” Cameron recalled. “We walked right into throwing the business plan out the window.”
Actually, they never got the opportunity to get their business plan off the ground. Like a lot of businesses dealing with the pandemic, Q Southern BBQ went to shortened hours and an abbreviated menu. Then came meat shortages and skyrocketing prices, which Cameron still watches closely. The most recent challenge is finding to-go containers and plastic products. They are hard to get, and prices are up. Restaurants worldwide are all dealing with these issues. Making matters worse, Cameron said: “Now we’re having staffing issues. Can’t get staff in the hospitality industry right now.”
He considers himself fortunate to have staff, but still, as the owner, he works 60-70 hours a week, sometimes going as long as three weeks without a day off. These days, many people are getting government assistance and don’t want to work. The flip side is some businesses need to shorten their hours, or close down either permanently or for days or weeks at a time. “The bills don’t stop,” Cameron said. “Can’t pay 100 percent of our bills with 50 percent of a workforce. It’s challenging.”
Still, Cameron seemed hopeful. “As things start to open back up and more people are getting out and about, they are finding out we’re here. It’s essentially like we’re just starting.”
Q Southern BBQ has more new starts coming their way soon. In fact, Cameron recently learned that Q Southern BBQ will be one of three caterers to the Dunedin Blue Jays, and he couldn’t be more thrilled. He looks forward to proving himself and for word to get all the way back to Toronto.
Another exciting start? He’s opening a second location at Caledonia Brewery. He recently purchased the space from Side Piece and plans to open next month. Will the menu be different from Q? “At Q, we don’t ‘chef it up,’” Cameron said. “This menu will be ‘chefed up’ more – geared toward the bar crowd. There will be fun sandwiches, mac-and-cheese bowls, brisket nachos, pork quesadillas, a smokehouse spin on a traditional Cuban.” They are already discussing potential events they can do together, possibly Octoberfest.
Cameron is a major player when it comes to creative local chef collaborations: “We’re all Dunedin people. We chose to be here, so we all have some kind of history together. We respect each other’s products. This is something you’re not seeing in other cities. We’re no more competition than any other restaurants, so why not help each other. It’s fun as chefs, it’s cool for the customers.”
Stay tuned for fun “chef collabs” with Tukro, The Restorative, Corvo Bianco, just to name a few.
Mon - Thur 4-9p | Fri & Sat 12-9p | Sun 12-8p
664 Main St Dunedin 34698 | 727.734.7227 | www.QBYCAPRI.COM | @qsouthernbbq