Legacy Brick Campaign will give some back to AKZ
Thomason’s Barbecue plans an expansion so that it can properly package its famous baked beans for greater distribution, and the restaurant will give a portion of its fundraising for the project to the East End’s Audubon Kids Zone.
Thomason’s owner Kevin Gibson said the plan will occur in two phases. The first will be expanding the current restaurant building back to a garage behind it, he said.
The extra space provided once the building is extended to the garage will allow the restaurant to put in place machinery to package beans according to regulations, Gibson said. The 20-foot-long machine will weigh and package, and will use plastic containers, instead of the Styrofoam containers that Thomason’s currently uses for beans, Gibson said.
With the plastic containers, the beans will have a 4-month shelf-life, which will allow for a wider distribution, Gibson said.
He said he hopes the expansion can be in place in six months.
A second phase is the purchase of a nearby plot of land on which will be constructed a building for pork processing and making and packaging baked beans. The new building will hold two barbecue pits and a refrigeration unit. There will also be a dock where trucks can load for delivery, Gibson said.
He said he hopes the new building can be constructed in two years. He said using the machine that will be placed in the expanded area behind the restaurant will be practice for when they get the bigger operation at the new building going later on.
During a Friday afternoon press conference held at Thomason’s banquet hall across the street from the restaurant, Gibson said the restaurant currently sells 37,000 pounds of baked beans yearly, which was a surprise to him when he took over the restaurant from his father in 2023. Gibson said he hopes he can boost that number to 50,000 pounds, “if not more.”
Also on the agenda Friday afternoon was the announcement of Thomason’s fundraising campaign, which has a connection to AKZ.
The restaurant is selling bricks to community members (and others) to serve as a foundation for the construction. It’s called the Legacy Brick Campaign and offers three levels.
- Standard rate for $150. A purchaser can get an engraved brick and a percentage of the fee will go to help fund AKZ.
- Neighbor rate for $100. This reduced rate is for East End residents. Proof of address is required.
- Neighborhood Volunteer rate for $75. Also for East End residents and includes a requirement of volunteering at AKZ for 2 ½ hours.
The funding and volunteering is specifically for AKZ’s teenage programming.
Gibson also showed an 11-minute video that details the history of Thomason’s Barbecue, including interviews with some of the restaurant’s past owners as well as family members and customers. The video will be added it to the Thomason’s BBQ Youtube channel soon.
Since he moved back to Henderson from California, Gibson said he’s done a lot of research of the restaurant which began as Willett’s Barbecue in 1960. His father, Frank, ran the restaurant from 1994-2022. After taking over for his father, Kevin Gibson came to a conclusion: “How do I continue to build the legacy?”
His answer is to build on what those who came before him have done and ask others to be a part of it, too.
“Hopefully people will want to be a part of the legacy,” Kevin Gibson said.
Those interested in taking part in the Legacy Brick Campaign can go to thomasonsbbq.com, can call the store at 270-826-0654 or stop in the store at 701 Atkinson St. The space allotted for engravings are three lines of 16 spaces each.
