Big Dawgs Barbecue quietly reopened under new ownership this week, following a brief period of closure earlier this year.
Big Dawgs will have its official grand opening Friday with an inaugural pork slab, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 804 Old Westpoint Road. The opening aims to be a family event, offering free hotdogs and kool-aid for children, as well as an inflatable play place.
Bobby Tate, the new owner of Big Dawgs Barbecue, hopes to make a classic country barbecue experience. The limited menu for the soft opening only contained their burger selections. Printed clearly at the top of their menu, the line “ALL FOOD IS SEASONED” served as both a promise and a warning. 
“Some people have high cholesterol,” Tate said, smiling.
Big Dawgs Barbecue prioritizes consistency and quality. June, the head kitchen chef, preps food for the entire day in the morning, so that the food has the same outcome of flavor regardless of who is in the kitchen. She creates her own spice mixes for the beef and fries. The food is made to order and is consistently well seasoned as promised. In classic Mississippi style, the prices are reasonable and the portions are generous. 
“I have a lot of stuff I want to do with this place,” Tate said. “But we started with the food. The most important thing was really good food, then the rest could fall in place behind that.”
The interior, though still sparse, already includes a daiquiri machine waiting to be set up. A wall of recently repaired refrigerators lines the back wall, one filled with Coke and Sprite and the rest empty. Tate said he hopes to put beers in it, but refuses until he gets them cooler. 
“Beer needs to be frosty,” Tate said.
When you ask Mississippians what they like most about Mississippi, the answer is usually either the food or the people. More than once, people have jumped the gun and thrown out “grass,” in a bid to convey that they value the natural beauty and expanse, but even then, the second is usually food. Big Dawgs is quintessential Mississippi food — classic and consistent, served by friendly and welcoming people. Everything is high in sodium and all the other things that make food here good. 
Big Dawgs Barbecue can be found on Facebook.