Down home barbecue has officially gone suburban.
Beckham’s B&M Bar-B-Que will celebrate the grand opening of its sixth store in Hawthorne Valley Shopping Center in Oakwood Village at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 1 at 23840 Broadway.
New customers can enjoy give-aways and other to-be-announced special activities at the former Taco Bell restaurant.
The new 2,000-square-foot store offers seating for 60, including four handicapped-accessible seats.
The location presents an opportunity for Beckham’s to deliver the same delicious food made from scratch, but also to offer new products and services like curbside service to a new audience, says Beckham’s co-owner Greg Beckham.
“Our customers in Oakwood village will always enjoy the delicious barbecue made from scratch everyday with the same family recipes that have been passed down from my father over the last 53 years,” Beckham says.
“But this location may also be the place to change up the menu a bit with more salads, more vegetarian plates, and other healthier choices. Things get started early around here, so I might even launch a breakfast sandwich here.”
Beckham will welcome input from customers to drive other additions to the menu or other changes in service at the restaurant.
“I’ll ask the people what they want,” Beckham says.
“I want to involve everyone in this community to share in the Beckham’s dining experience.”
Beckham will also involve residents of the community in new job opportunities with a soon-to-be announced on-site job fair. The restaurant is looking to hire approximately 20 people for full- and part-time positions.
“Twenty more people will be paying local taxes and contributing to the Oakwood economy,” Beckham says.
“We never opened any locations in winter, but in this economy I’d like to get some people to work before Christmas time. It’s a risky move to open now, but we want to try to bless a few people with jobs.”
Opening at this time, Beckham’s figures, might also bring traffic from surrounding communities like Solon, Twinsburg, and Macedonia to visit the restaurant and do holiday shopping in the plaza.
The opening comes on the heels of the relocation of Beckham’s anchor store to a larger space on Lee Road on Cleveland’s East side.
The new Lee Road store replaced the chain’s first carry-out restaurant a few blocks south on Lee in March.
Like the new Lee Road store, the Oakwood Village store will be heavily dine-in, but will also offer the carryout service that Beckham’s customers enjoy at the other locations.
Whether the Oakwood Village customers carry out or take advantage of curbside service, Beckham encourages all diners to take a moment to stop in and enjoy the tender and juicy famous ribs, the home style sides, or his wife Sonya’s famous banana pudding.
“Our customers have enjoyed the convenience of carry out, but you don’t have to carry out all the time,” Beckham says.
“We want our customers to slow down and enjoy our food for the soul.”
The restaurant opening also is perfectly timed to purchase family-size sides for holiday dinners. Beckham’s famous bottled barbecue sauce made from his father Eddie Beckham’s original recipe will always be available for sale at the Oakwood store.
Regular hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
