Traditional barbecue cuisine is something people usually find in the southern United States. A few establishments have migrated up north, trying to share the delicious native food with a new audience. It can be difficult to make an impact in the northeast where seafood is more of an institution than barbecue. That difficulty is magnified when crossing the bridges on to Cape Cod. One couple though is working hard to bring amazing traditional southern barbecue to the peninsula in the town of Dennis.
Timothy O’Meara and his fiancé Daniella Lussier opened Billygoats BBQ in West Dennis hoping to establish themselves as a part of the community by giving the locals something that they had rarely seen: good old fashioned barbecue on Cape Cod. Their journey to making Billygoats a must-go destination began by taking over a spot which was once home to a local icon.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s the large curve on Rt. 28 in West Dennis was home to the legendary restaurant and club known as Christine’s. After it closed in 2005, The Speakeasy tried to make a go of it in the famed location but was not successful. The site lay dormant and in disrepair until it was leveled in 2012 and replaced with a brand new building the following year. It was this opportunity that O’Meara could not pass up.
Having lived in New Hampshire for many years O’Meara began coming to Cape Cod several years ago to learn how to kitesurf. Not surprisingly he and Daniella fell in love with this place and put plans in motion to find a way to get here and find success. The couple did their research.
“I had always thought that BBQ would do very well here,” O’Meara says, “as there are really not many places here doing it. When the spot in West Dennis became available it was a perfect fit.”
The pair were so exuberant in their desire to get going that they opened Billygoats BBQ in November 2015, just when the season slows down. They did not mind though as they knew that once people came and tried their cuisine word would spread like wildfire.
“We smoke all our own meats on the premises and specialize in Brisket and Ribs,” O’Meara begins, “the hallmarks of any smoke house! There are lots of other choices too like country fried chicken, fried catfish, great salads, hush puppies, fried green tomatoes.”
A year and a half later Billygoats is a destination for great food, great drinks, and a great atmosphere. However Timothy O’Meara knows that so many people who live on Cape Cod end up leaving to find their success. He is an outlier who came to the Cape to find his success.
“This is purely my opinion,” he says, “that Cape Cod is so seasonal that young professionals find it difficult to catch and keep good jobs here that are interesting. There is a fundamental lack of colleges and small to mid size industries that would draw this demographic to the Cape; they all go to Boston where everything else is happening.”
It is a message repeated by nearly all of those who have been a part of this series and one can only hope that as time goes on more and more employers and young professionals will find a way to make success stories on Cape Cod a rarity no longer.
For Timothy O’Meara 2017 looks to be a banner year for Billygoats.
“We are very excited to be rolling out with a new menu for the Spring,” he begins, “there will be more seafood items, sandwiches and our own awesome version of clam chowder with our own smoked bacon in it. We also just finished building a brand new outdoor patio that seats 45 people in the shade of a beautiful maple tree and umbrellas facing West to take in our beautiful sun sets!”
There will also be pairing dinners with Devil’s Purse Brewery, another local success story, along with more great live music and specialty nights.
Mainly Tim and Daniella are looking forward to continuing to be good neighbors and productive members of the community. They routinely give back to the local youth hockey program, Cape and Islands EMSS, and will be hosting the Mid-Cape Classic Softball Tournament in September.
Traditional Southern Barbecue has taken the Cape by storm in West Dennis, the sky is the limit and the food is off the charts.
Visit Billygoats BBQ at 581 Main Street in West Dennis. Call them at 508-619-3821, or online at BillygoatsBBQ.com.
By Christopher Setterlund
