Feed Your Soul: A Serving of Hospitality and Customer Service

EL DORADO, Ar. (KNOE) - If you find yourself in El Dorado near the corner of North West Avenue and Grove Street, you might discover the smell of barbecue. Lee Weeks works just across the street, where the smell is a city block air freshener.

“Man, I get that smell all the time. It’s a good smell. It’s a good smell, though,” said Weeks.

That smell will lead you to Owens Barbecue.

Before cooking barbecue, owner Kelly Owens had an interesting career.

“Thirty-seven years of government work, three years Army, 34 years, Postal Service, elevator post office,” said Owens.

Now he delivers something even better.

He remembers barbecue as something he and his father did.

“Just a father-son relationship. We barbecued and continue to barbecued, and we barbecued, " said Owens. “After I retired, just having fun on a Friday, selling a little barbecue, and then end up at Friday after Friday, and then all of a sudden it turned into a business.”

Weeks said the food here is amazing and makes it hard to choose just one. The last time he got something from Owens, he had the chicken.

“I don’t necessarily got no favorite. It’s all good. It’s all good. Everything on that menu,” said Weeks. “Man, it falls apart in your mouth.”

I found out that is the case for most of the meat he cooks, like the ribs. They are fall-apart good that will melt in your mouth. I tried to see if Owens would change the name to Tender and Tasty’s, but he decided to keep the original name.

Owens’s son, Jeremy, says growing up, the philosophy of cooking is about more than the food.

“Food always brings people together. Some of them call him the BBQ preacher man, so they love it, man,” said Jeremy. “I think they just love his spirit too, so they don’t mind coming by. He’ll minister to people when they take it to their truck and stuff like that. And people just like to be loved.”

When you ask, Owens will tell you that is the secret ingredient to the flavor he delivers.

“That’s one ingredient I always try to have to treat people nice - customer service. Treat them like I want to be treated.”

So, stop by Owens Barbecue, where the hospitality and flavor are delivered daily to Feed Your Soul.

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