Taking His Barbecue to the Streets

Fans of Merrimack's annual Rock'n Ribfest who wish they could get a taste of some southern-style barbecue here in town on a regular basis, your prayers have been answered.

Enter Anthony Martino, owner of Gabi's Smoke Shack and an Ole Hickory Smoker on wheels, who has found a little home for his barbecue food truck in the lower parking lot at Nashua Harley Davidson.

And if you see smoke coming from his truck overnight, it's OK. In fact, it's better than OK, it's to be expected, as he smokes pork overnight to accomplish his motto of cooking low and slow.

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“I've gotten a call from the fire department saying they'd received a report that my truck was on fire,” Martino said. But it wasn't, the smoker, which has automatic shut offs if it gets too hot, was simply doing its job, preparing the next day's lunch.

Martino, who has been in business in that spot for about six weeks says he has new customers daily and its usually the same thing.

“They say, 'I saw your truck last night driving home from work' or 'a friend told me to come by,' ” Martino said.

A former long-time fixture in the restaurant business, from age 16-38, Martino is originally from Houston, Texas. He later was a traveling imaging technician in the nuclear medicine field, which took him to Presque Isle, Maine, where he met his wife and fell in love. The pair settled in New Hampshire 12 years ago and Gabi's – named for the Martinos' youngest daughter Gabrielle – started as a yearly barbecue.

A fan of barbecue and big get-togethers, the Martinos began a tradition of having a big back yard barbecue, getting together each Labor Day – his and his wife's anniversary. Last year, he said, he and friend Dennis Sherman, owner of DennyMike's Sauces and Seasonings, decided to have a Bobby Flay-style barbecue throw down. One hundred of their family, friends and friends of friends turned out and their reaction boosted his confidence.

After nine years of backyard barbecues, and getting laid off from his job in 2009, Martino said he'd toyed with the idea of turning his love for barbecue into a career.

In Texas, it's pretty much expected to come along roadside barbecue shacks with smoke billowing, the smell of meat smoking permeating the air.

“I told my wife, if I could sell barbecue on the side of the road and make a living, I'd be happy,” Martino said.

She said she didn't think it would work here like it does there, Martino said, but he decided to give it a shot.

In July 2011, Martino bought an Ole Hickory Smoker from a guy in Missouri and a trailer from someone in Georgia. He had the smoker mounted on the trailer and attached to a typical food truck – basically a partial kitchen on wheels.

But Martino ran into a bit of what traveling baker has in terms of getting permits for a food truck in Southern New Hampshire. Each town has different rules around what they allow and what they don't when it comes to vending on the side of the road.

In Merrimack, in order to sell food from a truck, it needs to be permitted for a specific location and on private property. In Hudson, where Martino lives, food trucks are limited to industrial zones.

“Every town is just a little bit different, which makes it difficult,” said Martino, who hoped to vend in a couple different locations.

For the last year, he's been serving up barbecue at various places around southern New Hampshire, including the Londonderry Flea Market, a couple venues in Hudson and more.

But when he connected with Harley Davidson through a couple charity events with Walmart in Amherst, it seemed to be a good fit.

Eventually, Martino said he sees the concept of food trucks really taking off in New Hampshire. They've been embraced all around the country, it just takes some time, he said, to get the right thinking behind it.

“It's going to be the way people on the go eat,” Martino said.

Now, Mondays-Fridays, Martino can be found behind the counter slicing brisket, pulling pork or chicken, preparing ribs and serving up some Texas hot links to people who are already becoming regular customers.

Martino has pulled pork and brisket daily. Pulled chicken is on the menu Mondays and Tuesdays and pork ribs on Fridays. He also does baked beans and red beans and rice. Meals run between $5 and $10 and servings are not skimpy.

However, there's a limiting factor to the food truck, Martino said. He'd like to have all those items everyday, but with limited space and no stove in the truck, it's not possible. So Martino is toying with the idea of a real, brick and mortar restaurant.

That would be the ultimate goal, he said, and he could continue to use the truck for his other loves, fairs, festivals and private catering – he's going to be at the Hudson Old Home Days Aug. 16-19 and he's done past events, like the Hudson Pumpkin Festival and the Topsfield Fair.

“I'm actively looking (for a a potential restaurant space),” he said. “But I'm not ready to make that leap yet.”

Martino said if he opens a restaurant he'd add some southern comfort food like fried catfish and gumbo, among others, to the menu.

He said he's looking in Merrimack, Nashua, Hudson and anywhere nearby, but he really likes the idea of being in Merrimack.

“Merrimack has Atrium moving in, and the Outlets. There's a lot going on in Merrimack,” he said. “You've got the bedroom community side of Merrimack, but you've also got a lot on the business side.”

All that said, for now, Martino is just hoping to build some regular clientele and see where it takes him through the summer and fall. And if he's wishing for things, a winter like last year would be good for business if he could stay open in colder months. But he's not betting on it.

For Martino, bringing barbecue to Route 101A is like taking a step back into his childhood when one of his favorite things to do was go out for barbecue with his dad at Matt Garner Barbeque. He recalls sitting on a stool watching the guys work the barbecue pits and the sights and smells, especially, bring him back in time.

“The smells are something you always remember, and when I smell that smoker it brings me back to the days when my dad and I went to Matt Garner's Barbeque together."

Gabi's Smoke Shack is open at , on the corner of Route 101A and Continental Boulevard from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. daily, and on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings when the motorcycle store is open later and holding Thursday night rides.

Visit Gabi's Smoke Shack online, follow it on Twitter for updates on where the smoke shack on wheels can be found and find it on Facebook.