Borough Gets Barbecued Nov. 1

In 26 days, western barbecue will become a borough standard.

Little Louie's BBQ, a freestanding restaurant located at 505 Haddon Ave., will officially open on Tuesday, Nov. 1, bringing an otherwise untapped dining market to Collingswood.

Part-owner, pitmaster and head chef Gerald Dougherty said his restaurant will add old-fashioned flair to Haddon Avenue.

"In the old barbecue style, they always barbecued in open pits with wood, so the terminology became 'pitmaster,'" said Dougherty of his title, adding that diners will be able to watch him cook over a contained smoker. "We're catering to that old-fashioned barbecue scene: We'll have a 70-inch television screen that constantly plays old, black-and-white cowboy films from the 1940s and 1950s."

Dougherty, a restaurateur with various fine-dining establishments under his belt, hails from Philadelphia and admits the barbecue venture—and the New Jersey restaurant scene—are new to him.

"I've had a lot of restaurants, but all based in Philadelphia," he said. "This is all brand new, the whole Jersey thing. I always worked in the city or on the Main Line. But after hearing about what Collingswood was, and what it is now, I think the downtown atmosphere will benefit us hugely.

"Most of my (former) restaurants didn't utilize barbecue," said Dougherty. "But barbecue has been an interest that became a passion for me."

Dougherty said he was trained in culinary arts as an apprentice to Philadelphia-based master chef Soren Arnoldi, who is now deceased, but operated a culinary institute, owned restaurants in Philadelphia, and taught culinary arts at Rhode Island college Johnson & Wales University.

"I apprenticed (with Arnoldi), and I've been cooking ever since, for 20-some years now," said Dougherty. "My latest (barbecue) venture, and the whole concept of Little Louie's, is meant to be a quick dining experience that's casual, fun, and very appealing."

And Little Louie's BBQ won't be your average, sit-and-wait-for-a-server dining experience.

Dougherty said patrons will enter the restaurant and be met with a menu board featuring the restaurant's dishes. Diners will order their fare at a counter, sit at a table and wait for a server to bring the food.

The simplistic operation will require as few as eight employees, said Dougherty, including one-to-two servers, three kitchen staff—including himself—two cashiers, and a couple other employees who'll be called in on an as-needed basis.

Little Louie's menu is already complete, featuring starters such as the Savory Cherrywood-Smoked Duck in a Blanket, and the Burnt-End Nachos, which feature tasty ends of smoked brisket with guacamole, black beans, Monterey jack cheese, jalapenos and tomato salsa in a green onion cilantro cream sauce.

Entrees include items like the Hickory-Smoked Salmon dish, and the Grits with Sausage and Shrimp, featuring buffalo-chorizo sausage which Dougherty makes in-house.

Dougherty's new digs will seat approximately 50 guests, and he expects to potentially implement outdoor seating this coming spring.

Dougherty said opening Little Louie's was a whirlwind process.

"This all happened in just a few, short weeks. We took possession (of the building) at the end of August, and got the green light to start construction on Sept. 1," he said.

According to the restaurateur and chef, Collingswood was a perfect site for his latest venture.

"I chose (Collingswood) because of what's happening here in the community. It's a great little downtown district, very restaurant-friendly," he said. "I think we hit a home run (with Little Louie's BBQ). I'm just waiting to see if we hit it out of the park."

Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 1, Little Louie's BBQ will be open every Tuesday through Sunday, from noon to 9 p.m.