New BBQ restaurant set to open this fall in Beaufort. Here’s what to know

Couple Kristen Miklinevich and Sam Kochan, seasoned restaurant owners and passionate food lovers from Massachusetts, are firing up something special in Beaufort this fall, Bordertown BBQ, bringing a new kind of heat to the Lowcountry.

This new restaurant will be replacing the former Home Slice Pizzeria at 2001 Boundary Street, located behind Starbucks, Jimmy John’s and beside the vacant Quality Inn.

This new eatery is slated to open in mid-to-late October, bringing a mix of Texas-style barbecue, Mexican street flair and Southern hospitality.

“We like to say it’s a little Southern, a little Western and a little Mexican,” Miklinevich said.

“We want people to step inside and feel like they’ve been transported somewhere totally different.”

From Massachusetts to the Lowcountry

Miklinevich and Kochan aren’t new to the restaurant game.

The couple has spent years running successful spots in Massachusetts, including Mission Cantina and North Village Smokehouse.

They decided to sell their businesses last year and move south in search of sun, community and a new adventure, but it was a detour through Beaufort around Christmas two years ago that sealed the deal.

“I was driving down to meet Kristen and her family for Christmas, and got rerouted through here because of an accident,” Kochan said. “We’d visited Hilton Head before, but as I drove through, I noticed the nativity scenes, the lights and it felt like small-town America in the best way. We fell in love.”

Luckily, Miklinevich had already purchased a small property in town and had family in Florida, so the move south was natural for the couple.

“We knew it was time and we knew we were done with the winters,” she said.

What’s on the menu?

Bordertown BBQ promises authentic, slow-smoked meats cooked on a 1000-gallon stick burner smoker.

Brisket, smoked items and other meats will be sold by the pound to give a Texas feel, along with combo platters, lunch specials, Mexican-inspired street tacos and brunch options to cater to the afternoon lunch rush and dinner crowds.

“We’re not taking shortcuts,” Kochan said. “A brisket takes 12 hours, which means I’m up at 2 a.m., lighting the wood on the smoker because that’s what real barbecue is.”

Drinks will be handled by Miklinevich, a longtime bartender with a passion for fresh, clean ingredients.

“Our margaritas are made with fresh-squeezed juices,” she said. “We make food and drinks we’re proud of — things we’d eat and drink ourselves.”

A BBQ place for everyone

Miklinevich and Kochan want Bordertown BBQ to be more than just food, but also about creating a whole experience. From family gatherings, birthdays, first dates or a night out, the couple plans for the space to cater events of all kinds.

“We’re gonna get kind of wonky and fun,” Kochan said. “We want people to enjoy themselves and their company when they’re there.”

The front restaurant will offer casual, family-friendly dining and a small patio.

In addition, the restaurant space is still attached to areas of the former Quality Inn, providing an area at the back side that will eventually serve as a honky-tonk style bar with live music, private event space and a more late-night vibe with an outdoor patio.

“We want it to feel like you just stepped into Texas, fit for everyone from every walk of life, good food, music and conversation,” said Miklinevich. “It should feel like a place you want to come back to with your friends, your family or just to hang out.”

Why the restaurant business?

Food is more than a career for Miklinevich and Kochan; it’s a calling.

“We could be doing anything,” Miklinevich said. “But nothing makes me happier than watching someone take a sip of a drink I’ve made and seeing their eyes light up. It brings me joy that nothing else in the world can bring.”

For Kochan, it’s all about the teamwork, camaraderie and the people.

“Restaurants are all about teamwork and service,” he said. “That rush of a busy night, the satisfaction of getting through a crazy shift - it’s addicting and exciting to share that with a team. It’s what we were meant to do.”

-Anna Claire Miller, The Island Packet