How Coop’s West Texas BBQ in San Diego Is Surviving, One Year Into the Pandemic | Eater San Diego

"By the end of 2019, as Coop’s West Texas BBQ was heading into its 10th year of operation, owner Brad Cooper told me business was unusually slow. The Lemon Grove eatery had become a destination on the barbecue circuit, drawing fans from all over Southern California for its smoked meat, but Cooper — a former nurse — watched diners decline and sales plummet 60 percent just before San Diego’s March 2020 shutdown. He shortened service to lunchtime in early 2020 to focus on the busiest hours and give his daughter Tara, who manages the restaurant, and the other ladies on staff more time with their families. Though he considered closing, he stayed open with reduced hours and unexpectedly had his biggest day since Christmas; he eventually rehired employees and says sales have been pretty steady since. Grateful to “stay afloat,” he credits barbecue’s durability as a takeout item, has spent pandemic downtime welding smokers for customers, experiments with Tex-Mex (including an award-winning pulled pork tamale), and is planning to franchise by 2022, streamlining the menu so he can train franchisees to deliver consistently good product because, as he warns, “all it takes is one bad plate.”" - Candice Woo