Chatter about SOME good ’cue

By BEN FIELDS - The Independent

KENOVA April 13, 2007 06:42 am

— So, what’s in a name? Or, perhaps more importantly, what’s on the menu?
Kenova’s Chatter Box had survived for 60 years, but it’s never been more successful since it underwent a name-change and a menu overhaul.
And it did all of that without changing owners. At least not recently.
So you can’t get a Big Kenova Burger anymore at the familiar spot on Poplar Avenue, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
After all, there aren’t many places where you can get homemade barbecue at a reasonable price, other than the Chatter Box or, as it is now known, Old West Barbecue.
From chili from an old family recipe, to ribs the owner describes as “killer,” there’s plenty of scratch-made items to fill just about any appetite at the restaurant.
“The pulled pork and chicken sandwiches, we’ve been selling loads of them every day,” said Shirley Ross.
Ross has owned the business for the past 10 years, and said the place has never seen as much activity as it has over the past month since making the switch.
“It’s been very exciting,” Ross said. “I think we needed a change in the area.”
Ross had been kicking the idea around for a while before putting it into motion, she said.
She was looking for something to give the restaurant, her full-time job, a boost.
“It was a struggle, really, and I just felt like we needed something different,” Ross said. “Business is a lot better with the barbecue.”
Ross gives credit to her 30-year-old son, Robert, for coming up with and implementing the barbecue idea.
“He just felt it would go, and said ‘Why don’t we just jump right in?’ So, we started working on some recipes,” she said. “It’s been unbelievable, and a lot better than I expected.”
Though Kenova isn’t exactly a restaurant destination, Old West Barbecue is seeing plenty of business from a cross-section of the community.
Ross said the lunch crowd is comprised of local plant workers, as well as Kenova residents.
The dinner crowd draws people from Ashland and Huntington, she said.
“We get a lot of travelers, we get the locals, we get working men and women from the surrounding area,” she said. “I think people like a place to come in and sit down and get a home-cooked meal.
“And, for us, it’s nice to settle into something that’s taking off,” Ross added. “It’s leveled off, but it’s really a super business now, and we’re really enjoying it.”
BEN FIELDS can be reached at bfields@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.

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