Dude’s BBQ coming to Spring Park

The Tuscumbia City Council heard two proposals for use of the barbecue restaurant in Spring Park formerly occupied by Dick Howell’s during its June 3 meeting.

After hearing the proposals, the Council members had the option to wait until the next meeting to choose an occupant or to make the decision during that meeting.

They chose the latter, with members voting unanimously to welcome Dude’s BBQ and Catering as the new occupant of the building.

Dude’s BBQ and Catering is owned and operated by Adam Myrick and his wife Porsha. They began business in Northeast Mississippi selling their wares under a tent.

A couple of years ago they began operating a food truck in the area, and in that time, they felt they had outgrown the narrow space four wheels provided.

“When you get barbecue, where do you go,” Adam Myrick asked the Council. “Outside the city. Tuscumbia doesn’t have a staple barbecue restaurant other than Sparky’s (Drive-Inn). I used to watch old man Sparky cooking whole hogs on a pit outside.”

Myrick said he has over 30 years of experience cooking barbecue. He and Porsha said the Spring Park location needs a good deep cleaning, but the barbecue pit inside is operational.

The couple said once a tree branch is removed from the chimney and the place is thoroughly cleaned, they expect to be up and running fairly soon.

Mayor William Foster and other Council members said they hoped the location would be up and running by the Helen Keller Festival held the last week of June.

One major caveat the City placed on anyone wanting to use the restaurant is kayak rentals. The City recently cut the ribbon on the nearby kayak launch, so rentals were a must to be able to utilize the restaurant space.

The Myricks did not have anything to do with kayak rentals, but through a mutual acquaintance they met someone who does.

They contacted D.J. Rickard, who has been in the kayak rental business for five years. He said he works mostly on Cypress Creek in Florence.

“I want to bring the whole outdoor experience so people can better utilize the park,” Rickard said. “I want to be that guy that’s in the park every day.”

Porsha said if the pair got the restaurant, they would sell their food truck and maybe buy another somewhere down the road.

Adam Myrick said he wants to have things like karaoke nights, kids’ movie nights using a projector and even a haunted kayak ride in October.

Rickard said he plans to sell different wares related to the kayak rentals, like hats, sunglasses, dry bags and other merchandise, including items that will go along with the new 18-hole disc golf course the City will soon be adding to the park.

“There is a lot of history in that restaurant, and I want to use the pit, chimney and let the city smell the smoke,” Adam Myrick said.