T&T BBQ and Southern Home Cooking Dishes Up a Helping of Hospitality

Farmers feed the world – but who feeds the farmers when their days often consist of toiling from dawn to beyond dusk?

In their neighborhood, Rodney and Loretta Tyre do. Owners of T&T BBQ and Southern Home Cooking, the couple says they’re proud to provide sustenance for the community that sustains them.

“We’re located between Madison and Jasper on State Road 6, and that’s the area where we both grew up and where our family – our children and grandchildren – still lives,” Rodney says. “So, the customers the restaurant serves are our friends and neighbors, the farmers, and workers who live here, too.”

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As president of the Hamilton County Farm Bureau, Rodney is proud to serve in that capacity as well – and knows just how to get the best catering in the area.

“Our restaurant has catered a few Farm Bureau functions,” he jokes. “It really does make us happy to be able to serve our community in so many ways.”

Opening Up

While community service is a given for the Tyres, the history of their restaurant at its current location dates only to April 2019 – just before the COVID-19 pandemic that taxed even national chain restaurants.

However, they say, its opening was divine timing for them.

“We’d been operating a barbecue food trailer for some time at places like festivals, rodeos and horse shows,” Loretta says. “I love to cook, so I’d always wanted a restaurant of my own.”

When the building became available, she says her prayer was answered. But responding to the pandemic required adjusting to several transitions in a short amount of time.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, we were required to be strictly takeout,” Loretta says. “Then, we opened to 25% capacity, then a few months later to 50% and finally back to 100%.”

Her experience as the head chef of a seasonal lodge in Kentucky made it a little easier because she was used to pivoting and making quick decisions and transitions in the kitchen.

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Order Up

Rodney oversees about 150 head of cattle and hayfields in his farming role, but at the restaurant, he’s usually in charge of smoking ribs, brisket, Boston butts for pulled pork and other meats.

“It seems like he’s always here doing something to help in the kitchen,” Loretta says. “He’s a constant help to me.”

As for favorite dishes on the menu, Rodney says the Cowboy Fries remain a top choice for customers, carrying over from their food truck days. These thick crinkle-cut fries are seasoned and topped with pulled pork, cheese and barbecue sauces, and pickled jalapeno pepper slices.

Other signatures include the Messy Pig and Southern Cuban. The Messy Pig consists of pulled pork topped with spicy slaw and cheese and barbecue sauces served in a grilled tortilla. The Southern Cuban has mayonnaise, mustard, ham, provolone cheese, pickles and pulled pork.

They also make their own potato chips to serve alongside the delectable sandwiches and wraps on their menu. But Loretta advises not to overlook the salad selection at this barbecue joint.

“My favorites are the chef salad or the club salad,” she says. “We use a spring mix of spinach, romaine and butter lettuces that gives our salads a nice crispness while also offering a more complex flavor and nutrient profile than iceberg lettuce alone.”

Despite being a chef in her own right, Loretta says she uses many old family recipes at the restaurant.

“I use my mom’s chicken salad recipe and my grandmother’s eight-layer chocolate cake recipe, for example,” she says. “That’s how I keep a little bit of them in here with me.”

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Stay Awhile

Rodney says people often tell him dining at the establishment doesn’t feel like going to a restaurant; instead, it feels like going home for a big family meal. Loretta agrees.

“I see people all the time who know each other. They get up, go to each other’s tables, share a hug, and talk and laugh,” she says. “I think this is a place where people can feel safe and comfortable, and that’s what we want.”

The community and giving back drives them to continue serving up delicious meals and a place to support the community.

“They see us at our best and our worst, and we share their struggles and their accomplishments right alongside them,” Rodney says.

Loretta says, “The love and support of our customers and community is what inspires me to keep going through the hard times. We appreciate them and are truly thankful and blessed.”

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