Interviewer: Melanie Haupt
Location: Barbecuties, Austin, Texas
This interview was originally produced through a collaborative effort of the American Studies Department at the University of Texas at Austin, The Central Texas Barbecue Association, and The Southern Foodways Alliance. Photos by Carly Kocurek.
It is shared with Foodways Texas as part of a collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance to document food stories in Texas.
Nikki Dugas, a recent college graduate, opened a barbecue stand on Austin’s vibrant Sixth Street in May of 2007. Known as the Barbecuties, the stand employs only women and sells brisket sandwiches to hungry night owls from Thursday to Saturday.
Dugas, who learned to cook and barbecue with her parents as a teenager, is proud that the stand is female owned and operated, and thinks that more women should get involved in barbecue. Although operating a cart is difficult at times, Dugas and her employees find it rewarding. She hopes to expand to a full restaurant in the future, but for now insists, tongue-in-cheek, that Barbecuties are “Not Just a Piece of Meat.”
