Sept. 11, 2018

Rowdy Hog Smokin’ BBQ is closing Sept. 29 after almost a decade in business.

“The time and labor that is involved was starting to outweigh the making of money,” said part-owner Brandon Lambert, whose father, Mark, started smoking meat and entering competitions in 2008.

Mark Lambert started catering private events and, with the help of his family, expanded into serving food at festivals such as JazzFest. They opened the restaurant at 923 S. Marion Road in November 2013.

Rowdy Hog’s five-year lease was ending in October and Lambert just became a father, so the family decided to close the restaurant.

Lambert said he and his father were working 50 to 60 hours a week because there’s no room to cut corners with barbecue. The meat takes hours to smoke, and they made the side dishes from scratch.

They announced the closing Monday, wanting to give their loyal customers plenty of time to eat at the restaurant one more time. The family also wanted to give their employees time to find other work, Lambert said.