By BENNETT HALL
Gazette-Times business editor | Posted: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 12:00 am
Sweet's Bar-B-Que has closed its doors, but the owner's hoping that condition is only temporary.
After 10 years of selling barbecue at various locations around Corvallis, Steve Smith closed his restaurant at 225 S.W. Fourth St. on Feb. 1. He wants to sell the business to finance his efforts to promote his Sweet's Premium B-B-Q Sauce to national distributors.
While no one has yet written a check for the $100,000 asking price, Smith said he's talked to a number of potential buyers, including at least three he considers legitimate prospects.
"We're talking seriously to a couple of people out of Salem and out of the coastal area," he said Monday.
To sweeten the deal for possible purchasers, the sale would include the restaurant's name and menu, which have become icons to a generation of Corvallis barbecue lovers.
"They'll buy the recipes and all that good stuff," Smith said. "We'll give them our secrets, and hopefully we'll find somebody that can continue the tradition."
Sweet's Bar-B-Que employed 16 people, and Smith is hoping they'll be rehired by the restaurant's new owners once a sale is completed. He described the closure as "something that had to be done" and said the restaurant went out with a bang.
"We ended with a blues jam," Smith said. "It was a good time. We had the place full, and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves."