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Barbara Ann's Bar-B-Que: Barbara Ann Bracy
Lem's Bar-B-Q: James Lemons
Fat Johnnie's: John Pawlikowski
Edna's Restaurant: Edna Stewart
Izola's Family Dining: Izola White
Rose DeShazer White: Home Cook
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Interviews and photographs by Amy Evans.
Barbara Ann’s Bar-B-Que
7617 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
Chicago, IL 60619
(773) 651-5300
[My father] used to like to go to this barbecue place not too far from here and—I mean he decided that he wanted this barbecue restaurant and he got with his brothers because he had—he brought his brothers from Mississippi, at least two of them and one worked in the restaurant business. His other brother was already here, so he helped also. And he decided that he was going to open up a barbecue restaurant and he did. – Barbara Ann Bracy
Delars Bracy left his hometown of Ruleville, Mississippi, as a young man and headed for Los Angeles, where he went to college. Eventually, he ended up in Chicago, where he was reunited with Bertie, his high school sweetheart. After starting a family, Delars decided to go to law school and had a career as a criminal lawyer for years. But he was also an entrepreneur. Delars dabbled in a variety of business ventures before eventually deciding to open a restaurant. In 1967 he opened a barbecue joint on Chicago’s South Side and named it after his daughter, Barbara Ann. Soon after, he opened Barbara Ann’s Motel on the same lot. Today, Barbara Ann Bracy carries on her father’s legacy. You can get rib tips and hot links that have been cooked in the original aquarium-style smoker, and you can still get a room at the motel. Barbara Ann hasn’t changed a thing. Well, maybe two things: you can now find turkey links and barbecued chicken on the menu at Barbara Ann’s Bar-B-Que.
What follows is a portion of the original interview that has been edited for length. To download the entire transcript in PDF form, please click here.
SUBJECT: Barbara Ann Bracy
DATE: March 26, 2008
LOCATION: Ms. Bracy’s office at Barbara Ann’s Motel
INTERVIEWER & PHOTOGRAPHER: Amy C. Evans
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Amy Evans: This is Amy Evans on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. And I am with Barbara Ann Bracy here. She has Barbara Ann’s Motel and Barbara Ann’s Bar-B-Que here in Chicago on Cottage Grove Avenue. And Barbara Ann, could I get you to introduce yourself and your birth date for the record, please?
Barbara Bracy: My name is Barbara Bracy—Barbara Ann Bracy—and my birth date is November 21, 1953 and [Laughs]—.
And well let’s talk about your father [Delars J. Bracy] because he is from Mississippi.
Yeah, he’s from Ruleville, Mississippi, and he was an attorney by trade and—well I should say profession, and he always from what he told me liked the restaurant business. He said when he was—would be walking to school in Los Angeles, he would see a hamburger place and so when he would see this hamburger place, he would say, “I want one of those.” And so as soon as he got out of law school and was able to establish himself, he bought some land, and first he was in the candy store business and then he went into the cleaners, and then he decided he was going to do a barbecue restaurant. So he bought some land and he built a barbecue place in 1967.
So, if I can back up, I also want to mention that your mother [Bertie L. Bracy] you said was—before we started recording—was from Indianola, Mississippi.
Yes, my mother was from Indianola, Mississippi. Yes.
And how did they meet in Mississippi?
I have a really unique situation. My mom’s family and my dad’s family, they all knew each other from childhood. So my mom’s relatives, her first cousins and all of them knew some of my father’s people were in their classes and so, you know, to have your mother and father’s relatives and everybody know each other, it’s like you had two first families, you know. I mean—you know. And so they met each other in school, and that’s how it happened. They just met each other in high school; it was high school, yeah.
Did they get married before they left Mississippi?
No, my mom left with my aunt, who was married to my dad’s brother, and they left Mississippi together. And my dad was already here. And but then when she got here, they got married.
So then before that your father went to law school in California?
Actually he went to LA City College and—I think it was Los Angeles City College—and then he came here and he worked at the post office, and then he decided that he wanted to go to law school, and he graduated from John Marshall [Law School in Chicago].
And then, just so that I feel like I have the story straight, and—your father, did he and his entire family move up or did just he move up—move up to Chicago?
Well his brother was already here and basically, I—well then he had a sister here; a lot of his family members were migrating to Chicago—a lot of them, so—yeah. And then a lot of my mom’s family members were migrating to Detroit and Chicago, so yeah.
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So tell me, when your father was experimenting with all these different kinds of businesses and he landed in the restaurant business, was the place downstairs [Barbara Ann’s Bar-B-Que]—was that his first barbecue venture?
Yeah, that was his first barbecue venture. That was the first. He built that building in 1967; he bought the land. And then he built the barbecue restaurant. He used to like to go to this barbecue place not too far from here and, unbeknownst to me, he and—I mean he decided that he wanted this barbecue restaurant and he got with his brothers because he had—he brought his brothers from Mississippi—at least two of them and one worked in the restaurant business. His other brother was already here, so he helped also. And he decided that he was going to open up a barbecue restaurant and he did. Yeah.
And tell me, too, before recording we were talking about Mr. Lemons at Lem’s Bar-B-Q, and that’s not too far from here.
Yeah, Mr. Lemons came from the same hometown that my mom—and so my mom knew Mr. Lemons. He knew—she knew his wife. I mean, you know, it was like all the Southern people knew each other. It was, you know, I guess they just had this little connection and Mr. Lemons had so many—I think he had like two or three brothers that were all in the business also, so it was like why not, you know? So he did; he just built the building, and it’s been Barbara Ann’s since—ever since.
Yeah. So he named it after you?
Yes, unbeknownst to me.
Did he have a mind that you might carry on the business later on?
I don’t know. Because I went to school, so I don’t know, you know. I guess in his mind he figured, well, he’ll leave a base or he’ll make a base and then from there, he’ll hope that I keep it going.
So how did you kind of come up in your father’s shadow in the barbecue business, having this place named after you now and having it yourself?
Well actually, it was—my mother, my father, his two brothers; I mean a lot of relatives used to work in the barbecue place. And then he decided, since he had like two or three other lots, he would build a motel. Well he had bought—he had built another motel in his office about two blocks down, okay, down on 79th. He built an office building, and he put like thirteen units. And then he said, “Well, maybe I’ll build the motel right next to the barbecue place, since I’ve got this land.” So he did, but he never got to see this place open. He died in 1977; we opened the barbecue—the motel in August of 1977, so he never got to see this place finished. So as a family, we got together; we finished it. And as the years progressed—I mean he died in [nineteen] ’77, then my mother died in ’91 and then my uncle died in ’93 [Homer A. Bracy], and my other uncle died in ’95 [Bonnie C. Bracy], so yeah. So as they started peeling off, then I was away at school. And then I would come back home, and then I lived in California, and then I lived in Colorado and—. So as I would come back and forth, and then it became to a point that I had to come home and help take care of my mother. So that’s how I got here.
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So when [your father] started the barbecue business down there, did he enjoy being in the barbecue business?
Well, yeah. I mean he would come by after court or after the day ended and he would come and he would pull a piece of meat off the pit and he’d taste it and he’d say, “Oh, this is good.” And if it tasted good to him without any sauce, then he knew it was tasty once the sauce got on there.
Did your dad cook at home for the family when you were coming up?
No, no, no, he was never a cook. He was very—no, no; he showed no interest in cooking. [Laughs] Strictly the organizer and the—he was the backbone, you know; he was the family backbone. And my uncle used to tell me all the time that it was very ironic because most families, when the backbone leaves, most families they shatter or they—they can't carry on, but we’re still here.
And so your father in the barbecue business just—he knew how to hire the right people?
Well it was mostly family; it was all family, basically. I mean my mom’s family, my dad’s family; it was all family.
So how did he make a name for himself in his barbecue and your links and rib tips and all that?
Well, you know, to be honest, I guess the truth or the—as they say the truth is in the pudding. I mean it’s still here and so, since 1967, and we’re still here and we’ve never closed none other than, you know, to clean up or something of that nature, you know, but—. I guess that’s what it is—is tasty.
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Do you like eating barbecue?
No, I don’t eat pork. [Laughs] No, I don’t eat pork. I—I just recently—I added to the menu turkey hot links, so for those that, you know—and we always keep on the menu barbecue chicken because I don’t eat pork. So I added turkey hot links for those that feel the same way I do.
Have those been selling well?
Yes, they have. They are—that was a smart move—smart move.
So tell me about the people you have down there now. I met Carolyn and Gwen yesterday.
Uh-hmm. Those are people that used to work at the motel, but I have shifted [Laughs] them to the barbecue place. But Carolyn [Hinton] is retired from the Chicago Public School Cafeteria, so she does have a food service license—manager’s license. I have my food service manager’s license and Gwen—Gwen [Gwendolyn Carter] just got hers and so Carolyn has had her own catering company, so—. And then I did keep two or three of the other people that the gentleman that I had it leased to—I did keep two or three of his people because they had been with him like ten or twelve years.
So they’re the ones that are basically carrying on what the man left behind before, as far as the barbecue?
He has—he has since opened up his own place now. The name of his place is called Uncle John’s Barbecue, and he’s very well known for his hot links. And I hated to see him go, but I am thankful for him carrying on our name and he did, yeah.
So do you still have some people that came when he had the place downstairs that still come here?
Oh yeah, we do; we still have some of his following, yeah. Yeah we do, we do.
So who’s cooking the meat downstairs?
Well actually, Carolyn and Mrs. Pace—actually, that pit is really ran by women, uh-hmm. Women are really turning the—the rib tips and they’re turning the hot links, and they’re really doing the cooking. I think we have like—we have like two men who cook but basically, the women are running it, yeah.
Now was that intentional that you wanted some women down there in charge, or it just worked out that way?
Yeah, it happened like that, yeah. It just happened like that.
So what do you think the future is of Barbara Ann’s Bar-B-Que?
Well, right now, I’m in the process of putting together a sauce to market, and now that I’ve got some good people in position and now that I’ve come to an acceptance level that it appears that [Laughs] I’m part of this, I’m ready now to put forth a little energy. So I’ve sought out some people in regards to putting together a barbecue sauce and bottling it.
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What do you think your father would say about you carrying on the business and marketing the sauce?
Well I would hope that, since I’ve kept the business and I’ve maintained the business for this period of time—because the motel was built in 1977, so since we still have it, I would hope that he would be proud to know that I didn’t just throw it away.
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Being a barbecue restaurant that’s named for a woman and now being that woman in charge, what is that like being in a woman in business today?
Hmm, I’ll thank my mother for that [Laughs] because I’m sure she had quite of influence on his decision. I just think that it can—you know, women today can do it; I mean not that I’m this big women-libber, but women can do it; women can do it. And I just think anyone in today’s market should think of doing for themselves, seeing what they can do, stretch their ideas and—and how they feel and how—how they think they can make—you know, make a way and how—what can they give back or what can they do make themselves feel better, you know. So as far as it being a woman, I just think it just happened that way.
Do you think that you get more female customers or anything like that because you’re a woman?
No, not necessarily. I don’t see it because I’m not over there. [Laughs] But I—you know, I do know that one of the organizations that came—and they interview us every year—she made a big thing out of the fact that there were all women running the pit and we have—we still use a wood-burning pit. In fact, that pit that’s there is the pit that they started out with; we’ve never changed our pit. We’ve had it redone quite a few times, but we’ve never changed our pit so—.
And that’s one of the Chicago aquarium-style pits.
Yes, yes, it’s an original. Because when they built that place, that pit was put in there, and it’s never moved.
And the wood combination you use, do you use a little charcoal also or—?
No, actually, they use different types of wood. If they do use charcoal, it is to prolong the wood but basically, it’s all wood—it’s all wood.
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And so being in the hotel business and the barbecue business, is one better than the other?
Well I, specifically, like the motel business because it’s not a hard business. A restaurant business is very hard because you’re dealing with so many different objects and so many different entities, you know. So I, personally, like the motel business.
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So what else can you tell me about the barbecue business—anything that I wouldn’t know to ask or something special about that building down there?
It’s just something about barbecue. I don’t care what ethnicity you are, I don’t care who you are, it’s something about barbecue that you say “barbecue” and people just like oh, well, yeah. It’s just the strangest thing. It’s just something about barbecue, so I enjoy that aspect of being a part of that, you know.
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So since your father opened the barbecue restaurant, but he wasn’t really a restaurant person—he was more of a businessman—is there anybody who taught you anything about barbecue along the way?
Yeah, actually, my parents were influenced or I should say not influenced but Leon’s Bar-B-Q, he—old man Leon really helped my mother and father. I mean, he really did. I remember Leon coming around, and I remember him helping my uncle [Bonnie Bracy]. And I remember that, you know, because my father brought my uncle from the South, and he lived in Jackson. And he used to work for Sears, and he left his job in Jackson and came. In fact, he was the overseer while the barbecue place was being built, and he used to live at our house and I—until his family came and then he got his family a house. And after about a year or two, then his family moved up and they moved into their house, and I remember my uncle going to Mr. Leon’s barbecue place and Mr. Leon coming, you know, to their barbecue—to our barbecue place, so oh, definitely. I remember that. Oh, yeah, they definitely helped.
And before your parents passed, do you remember them talking while you were growing up about their choice to leave Mississippi and come to Chicago and—and the opportunities that they had here over the years?
Well, yeah. I—you know, as I grew up, I remember they always wanted me to have more than what they had. Education was key; you know, when you graduated from high school, it didn’t matter where you were going but, you know, you were going to college. And the, you know—their—my uncle [Homer Bracy] used to say to me all the time that if I was—that it was very hard to get your name on a piece of paper; he would tell me that all the time. And he would say to me that they would never see anything from this because they worked so hard to get it, but if I would hold on, then, if nothing else, I would have a base…And I’m looking at him like, “Yeah?” as I’m rubbing my head like, you know [Laughs] And he told me, he says, “If you hold on,” he said, “we’re not going to be around but if you hold on, this will be your base.” And he said, “And if you have a base, you can springboard and do anything you want.” And now I understand what he meant; now, after all these years, I understand what he meant now.
And now your name is not only on a piece of paper, but on a lighted sign out front.
Oh, God. [Laughs] But, you know, it’s—it means something.
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I asked you before about the future of Barbara Ann’s, but do you feel like it will always be in the family?
Well, actually, not, you know—my nieces aren't really that interested and—which is okay because I’m looking at it more or less like a 401K, more or less. And, you know, and in two to five years, who knows, you know, what will happen and—it’s okay; it’s okay. You just work it and do the best that you can while you have it. And that’s all, you know. So you never know—you just never know what happens.
To download the entire transcript in PDF form, please click here.
