Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Beth Paulk.
Hi Mary Beth, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Growing up I always had a love/passion for food, whether that was cooking or eating (lol)! I enjoyed spending time in the kitchen starting at a young age. From baking at my Grandmother’s House, Rice Krispy Treats and Brownies were our specialty, or preparing gourmet lunches of Kraft Mac & Cheese and Chicken Nuggets for my baby brother while babysitting during Summers off from school. As a child, conversations in our household usually revolved around what we were going to eat. On Sunday’s during church we always passed the bulletin down to our parents with a note that said “what’s for lunch” and then immediately followed with “well what’s for dinner tonight”. It was a Saturday tradition that my siblings, cousins, and myself would load up into my Grandaddy’s vehicle and head to the local bbq joint to enjoy a pork sandwich with potato salad or classic Lay’s potato chips and Carolina Style Mustard Sauce. A lot of my childhood memories involve food in some form or fashion. My Father is a row crop farmer along with his brothers and my Grandfather(Dolan’s namesake). Our family gatherings were always held at the “kitchen house”, where we watched our Grandaddy and his best friend cook some of our favorite dishes. We learned to cream corn, fry just about anything, make preserves, and the list goes on. My Grandaddy Dolan had a brick bbq pit built on our farm many years before I was born where he would bbq pigs for farm gatherings, family functions, and church events. My Grandaddy Dolan taught me that food gives people a reason to gather. It is not just about the necessity of eating to survive, but making people happy by bringing them together and feeding their soul!
I graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2010 with a Hospitality Management Degree. While in college I worked as a waitress in several different restaurants, as well as the local jewelry shop. I knew that I wanted to work in some form of customer service/hospitality. Once I graduated from GSU, I started my internship with the Ritz Carlton of Amelia Island hotel where I stayed until 2014. I started as an employee in the recreation department hauling beach towels & chairs, dressing up as a princess or pirate, reading bedtime stories to children with milk and cookies, and giving kayak tour. As my time continued with RCAI, I worked my way up through the ranks from Club Level, Guest Relations, until I made it to Housekeeping Manager. During that time I missed the culinary scene. My love for food was still there. I would cook for co-workers and friends to scratch that itch.
While working at the Ritz Carlton my sister, Lazar Oglesby, was busy starting her own business. She is the owner of Honey Specialties and Honey Cheesecakes. She knew that I was missing home and being with family so terribly. Her business was growing and she was looking for help to continue that growth, so I asked if I could move back home and be her right hand man. We worked side by side for a year, cooking up all of the typical southern classics, some fun and funky creations, and lots of cheesecakes all while being connected to a gas station in the small town of Millen, GA. We had SO MUCH fun together. She is my very best friend.
One day we were talking about our future and what we hoped to accomplish in the culinary scene and started scheming about a bbq restaurant. We knew that we wanted to pay homage to our Grandfather Dolan, who taught us so much about the love of food, cooking, and family. In November of 2015 we opened Dolan’s Bar-B-Que on Hwy 25 in Millen, GA. It was a small, cement block building with a brick bbq pit modeled after the one on our family farm. . We were open Thursday-Saturday from 10:30-sold out. It was very much a journey of trial and error that involved Lazar, her husband Johnny(or as we lovingly call him Snuggles), our baby brother D(Dolan Edward Brown IV), and a lot of unsolicited advice from every home bbq cook in a 30 mile radius. It was simple: dang good bbq cooked the old fashion way with home-made Southern sides. As we perfected our recipes, I started adding fun and funky specials to our line up to keep folks coming back for more than a bbq sandwich.
Over time Honey and Dolan’s both grew in popularity and size. With growth comes change. Covid happened and Lazar decided to close the cafe portion of Honey so that she could focus on getting her Famous Cheesecakes to anyone in the United States, which she now does through Goldbelly. My focus became making Dolan’s some of the best bbq around and bringing it to Statesboro where a lot of our customers lived. I wanted to create a gathering spot for locals where you could get a delicious affordable meal, grab a fun signature cocktail or a good cold beer, and listen to some great local talent. In 2020 we bought the old McDonald’s Building on South Main Street. It had been sitting vacant for 20+ years and needed more than just a little TLC. In 2021 my vision for what I wanted Dolan’s Bar-B-Que to be was complete, including a store front where you can buy Lazar’s Cheesecakes and other grab & go food items. We serve pit smoked bbq, southern sides, funky specials, and craft cocktails. This November marks our 10 year anniversary. I know our Grandaddy Dolan is smiling down and wishing that he could be here to greet our customers!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have certainly been challenges along the way. Covid presented its own challenges. Many restaurants were not able to survive that time. We turned a little side window in our cement block building into a make shift drive thru and kept slinging que!
Finding employees that understand your passion for good food and service and want to be a part of that is always a struggle. Especially when it comes to finding an overnight pit cook. There are no flipping switches and leaving for the night around here. A pit cook is on duty from 8pm Monday evening-Saturday when we close.
The ever rising cost of food is always a struggle that we deal with as restaurant owners. Food cost are high and we want to be able to stay affordable for our customers.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an extremely present business owner. On any given day you can find me in the bbq pit, on the head of the line making plates, running food to tables, etc. I don’t necessarily do it because I have to. I do it because that is my passion and that is what I love. My employees respect the fact that I will never ask them to do something that I haven’t already or would not still do myself. I am proud that I have a group of managers and employees that want to come to work (most days lol)! They know what my vision is and work hard to help me execute it everyday! Girls Can ‘Que Too!!
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I don’t think life is worth living without taking risks. If everything you do involves no risk where is the reward? It is a huge risk to start a restaurant, much less a bbq restaurant. Restaurant failure rate is around 30% with around 17% of those closing within the first year. Failure was and never will be an option.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dolansbbq.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/dolansbarbque
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dolansbarbque
