By Chris Fitz Gerald
The Record

COHOES — A sign on a fence adjacent to the Pig Pit BBQ restaurant reads: “Pig Pit vs. Dinosaurs: Bring It On!”

The banner, which is visible to traffic on Route 787, sums up establishment owner Dave “Tex” Frazier’s approach to the barbeque business even with the arrival of the widely popular Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Downtown Troy last fall.

The Dinosaur Bar-B-Que chain has become an institution with restaurants in cities across the state.

Yet Frazier, who has been in business in the Capital District since 1993 when he and his wife moved here from his native Texas, not only welcomes the competition from the barbecue giant across the Hudson River, but is thriving from it.

“Business has gone through the roof,” said Frazier, whose Pig Pit BBQ is located on the corner of 787 and Dyke Avenue in the Spindle City.

Pig Pit BBQ has benefited greatly from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s presence, Frazier contends, going as far to say its arrival has been good for barbecue joints across the region.

“It’s the kind of thing that’s not just helping me, it’s helping anyone who is in the barbecue business,” Frazier said, “I just happen to be close by and I’ve been doing it a while. I have a real nice reputation because I offer a good quality product at a good value.



“But it’s (Dinosaur Bar-B-Que) made people think about barbecue so much more.”

One advantage a smaller restaurant like Pig Pit BBQ enjoys is shorter wait time for its customers. Continued...

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“I think it’s a tremendous benefit with the fact that there’s not an hour and half or two hour wait,” said Frazier, whose original restaurant was in Cohoes and then moved to several locations in the area before finding its current home. “And because I am the size that I am I can afford to sell the product that I sell at a better value.”

While its larger neighbor has been swamped with customers since its opening with lines in front of the building, many even times during lunch, Frazier’s restaurant offers more convenience.

“I think they bring a tremendous awareness to barbecue and I think that’s a big factor,” Frazier said of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. “If you go over there on a Saturday afternoon and its an hour and half wait, some people may say, ‘let’s go try the Pig Pit.’ I’ve been around for a while, so I get a lot of recognition. They get in here and we serve people pretty quickly.”

The success of Pig Pit BBQ has been sparked mostly by word of mouth as Frazier, who strives to provide his customers with “better value” doesn’t believe in advertising much, if at all.

“Especially in a small business like mine, I don’t have the ambience or the name recognition that Dinosaur Bar-B-Que has,” said Frazier, whose barbecue smoke pit is located on Washington Avenue in a former Cohoes Fire Department building, which he bought from the city in an auction. “I have to rely on people coming here by word of mouth because they get a good quality product at a fair price with reasonable service.”

Just like with Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Pig Pit BBQ also receives take out orders online, a medium Frazier has been utilizing even more — as he offers a five-percent discount on all online orders.

In addition, he’s launched a Facebook page for the restaurant; as of this weekend over 200 people “liked” their page.

Pig Pit BBQ offers award-winning southern style barbeque, from pulled pork sandwiches to ribs, chicken and beef brisket as well as Mexican cuisine, as well as award-winning chili.

Over the years, Frazier has also developed several menu items, including — spud buds (deep fried-potato skins filled with BBQ pork or chicken, cover with cheese and put on the grill), pig pizza (pizza shell, BBQ sauce, pork or chicken, cover with cheese) and dirty fries (roasted beef gravy and cheese over fries).

“We make things from scratch because it’s economically sound to make them from scratch,” said Frazier, who coined his own business line “Put some South in your mouth.” Continued...

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Frazier also enjoys a thriving business with his lunch cart in downtown Albany during the warmer months at the corner of State and Swan.

“That’s the cat’s meow,” he said. “That is a lot of fun.”

Frazier’s company, which also includes Tex’s Longhorn Catering Company, has been at the heart in the area’s evolution of barbecue.

“When we came up here, there were only two barbecue places — Brooks in Oneonta and P.J.’s in Saratoga,” he said.

Now the area’s barbecue establishments include Capital Q in Albany, Chico’s in Guilderland and Mustang Smoked BBQ and Fried Chicken in North Troy, which opened in December.

“When you grow up in Texas, barbecue is kind of a cuisine you have it all the time,” Frazier said. “Now people are becoming so aware of it here it’s kind of cool to watch. People are talking about it and they come in and know about it.”

Frazier recognizes the attraction of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, but his business benefits from this.

“We have a lot of feedback from people and everybody wants to try it because it’s a great place,” he said.

Chris Fitz Gerald may be reached at 270-1252 or by email at cfitzgerald@troyrecord.com.

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By Chris Fitz Gerald
The Record

COHOES — A sign on a fence adjacent to the Pig Pit BBQ restaurant reads: “Pig Pit vs. Dinosaurs: Bring It On!”

The banner, which is visible to traffic on Route 787, sums up establishment owner Dave “Tex” Frazier’s approach to the barbeque business even with the arrival of the widely popular Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Downtown Troy last fall.

The Dinosaur Bar-B-Que chain has become an institution with restaurants in cities across the state.

Yet Frazier, who has been in business in the Capital District since 1993 when he and his wife moved here from his native Texas, not only welcomes the competition from the barbecue giant across the Hudson River, but is thriving from it.

“Business has gone through the roof,” said Frazier, whose Pig Pit BBQ is located on the corner of 787 and Dyke Avenue in the Spindle City.

Pig Pit BBQ has benefited greatly from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s presence, Frazier contends, going as far to say its arrival has been good for barbecue joints across the region.

“It’s the kind of thing that’s not just helping me, it’s helping anyone who is in the barbecue business,” Frazier said, “I just happen to be close by and I’ve been doing it a while. I have a real nice reputation because I offer a good quality product at a good value.



“But it’s (Dinosaur Bar-B-Que) made people think about barbecue so much more.”

One advantage a smaller restaurant like Pig Pit BBQ enjoys is shorter wait time for its customers.

“I think it’s a tremendous benefit with the fact that there’s not an hour and half or two hour wait,” said Frazier, whose original restaurant was in Cohoes and then moved to several locations in the area before finding its current home. “And because I am the size that I am I can afford to sell the product that I sell at a better value.”

While its larger neighbor has been swamped with customers since its opening with lines in front of the building, many even times during lunch, Frazier’s restaurant offers more convenience.

“I think they bring a tremendous awareness to barbecue and I think that’s a big factor,” Frazier said of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. “If you go over there on a Saturday afternoon and its an hour and half wait, some people may say, ‘let’s go try the Pig Pit.’ I’ve been around for a while, so I get a lot of recognition. They get in here and we serve people pretty quickly.”

The success of Pig Pit BBQ has been sparked mostly by word of mouth as Frazier, who strives to provide his customers with “better value” doesn’t believe in advertising much, if at all.

“Especially in a small business like mine, I don’t have the ambience or the name recognition that Dinosaur Bar-B-Que has,” said Frazier, whose barbecue smoke pit is located on Washington Avenue in a former Cohoes Fire Department building, which he bought from the city in an auction. “I have to rely on people coming here by word of mouth because they get a good quality product at a fair price with reasonable service.”

Just like with Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Pig Pit BBQ also receives take out orders online, a medium Frazier has been utilizing even more — as he offers a five-percent discount on all online orders.

In addition, he’s launched a Facebook page for the restaurant; as of this weekend over 200 people “liked” their page.

Pig Pit BBQ offers award-winning southern style barbeque, from pulled pork sandwiches to ribs, chicken and beef brisket as well as Mexican cuisine, as well as award-winning chili.

Over the years, Frazier has also developed several menu items, including — spud buds (deep fried-potato skins filled with BBQ pork or chicken, cover with cheese and put on the grill), pig pizza (pizza shell, BBQ sauce, pork or chicken, cover with cheese) and dirty fries (roasted beef gravy and cheese over fries).

“We make things from scratch because it’s economically sound to make them from scratch,” said Frazier, who coined his own business line “Put some South in your mouth.”

Frazier also enjoys a thriving business with his lunch cart in downtown Albany during the warmer months at the corner of State and Swan.

“That’s the cat’s meow,” he said. “That is a lot of fun.”

Frazier’s company, which also includes Tex’s Longhorn Catering Company, has been at the heart in the area’s evolution of barbecue.

“When we came up here, there were only two barbecue places — Brooks in Oneonta and P.J.’s in Saratoga,” he said.

Now the area’s barbecue establishments include Capital Q in Albany, Chico’s in Guilderland and Mustang Smoked BBQ and Fried Chicken in North Troy, which opened in December.

“When you grow up in Texas, barbecue is kind of a cuisine you have it all the time,” Frazier said. “Now people are becoming so aware of it here it’s kind of cool to watch. People are talking about it and they come in and know about it.”

Frazier recognizes the attraction of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, but his business benefits from this.

“We have a lot of feedback from people and everybody wants to try it because it’s a great place,” he said.

Chris Fitz Gerald may be reached at 270-1252 or by email at cfitzgerald@troyrecord.com.

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