What's up with Zeke's?

[phungi]

After having lunch at Zeke's a few weeks back, I have stopped by twice to pick up ribs for dinner, and they were closed. Rather than stop by again, I called (several more times) before going there and no-one has answered.

Anyone know what is going on with what I thought would be my new favorite local BBQ locale?

Worried in Wynnewood...

[shacke]

After having lunch at Zeke's a few weeks back, I have stopped by twice to pick up ribs for dinner, and they were closed.  Rather than stop by again, I called (several more times) before going there and no-one has answered.

Anyone know what is going on with what I thought would be my new favorite local BBQ locale?

Worried in Wynnewood...

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They have never answered the phone for me. Maybe it is vacation time?! Hopefully?.....

[Greg Salisbury]

Prentice, the owner, has some staffing issues, as he delicately puts it. The restaurant is still open, but on a limited basis. Always best to call ahead to be sure he is

a. open and

b. in stock of the items you want; he does all the BBQ himself, a tall order for one person.

[phungi]

I drove past on the way home and a hand-scrawled sign in the window said:

"Due to emergency, Zeke's will be closed for a few days."

Maybe this will motivate me to call ahead to try Debreaux's.

[phungi]

two weeks later and they are still closed... this is not a good sign...

[shacke]

two weeks later and they are still closed... this is not a good sign...

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That's a bummer. I did pass by Tommy Gunns for the first time and that's close. Guess I can give them a try.

Evan

[phungi]

my fears are now confirmed.... same sign in the window and the phone is now disconnected... it appears we lost a good bbq place

[Andrew Fenton]

A shame. Zeke is a very good barbecue chef, as well as a real mensch.

[shacke]

A shame.  Zeke is a very good barbecue chef, as well as a real mensch.

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Agree. thats a shame particularly if it closed because of employee problems

Evan

[phungi]

Driving up Lancaster Ave. last night, I happened to pass Zeke's, and there were holiday lights up and the hand-written "closed" sign on the door was gone. The phone number is still out of service, so if anyone drives past during the day, please report back any signs of life or activity.

[Rich Pawlak]

Driving up Lancaster Ave. last night, I happened to pass Zeke's, and there were holiday lights up and the hand-written "closed" sign on the door was gone.  The phone number is still out of service, so if anyone drives past during the day, please report back any signs of life or activity.

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My physical therapist is a close friend of Prentice Cole, and tells me that Ze ke's should reopen soon, perhaps January, as soon as he can hire reliable help. It's been a rough year for Zeke's , 3 gunpoint robberies, unreliable help and the resulting inability to open, he tells me.

[phungi]

Thanks for the good news, as it is like the perfect present for the holidays. Tell Zeke the faithful are waiting and ready to support him!

[KatieLoeb]

Sheesh! You'd think after 3 gunpoint robberies he might want to try a new location. Maybe he could find better help in a better locale.

[GregD]

I don't know him and wouldn't want to speculate about his motives. But the reasons why people try to make businesses work in areas that a Rittenhouse Square business operator wouldn't could be:

1) he owns the property--don't know if this true but many business owners in West Philly stay there for that reason

2) he genuinely believes in the neighborhood and wants to be part of its survival and even resurgence (and perhaps doesn't believe in or like neighborhoods that other restaurant proprietors flock to.)

3) he doesn't believe his business could do well in a market that catered to a significantly different class of business (an open question, given the paucity of truly authentic barbecue places doing well in Center City. There's not much evidence that a real barbecue place can pay the rent there, unless they're a chain or doing things that Zeke's doesn't currently do, like serve beer and focus on happy hours.)

The simpler thing, probably, would be to find a place in West Philly that's a little closer in, on the theory (that seems true from talking to business owners I frequent) that places south and east of Zeke's--but still in West Philly--are held up much less frequently, in part because of the police station at 55th, in part because of the Penn police presence in the mid-40s, in part because of UCD "ambassadors" out to 48th Street. Whether he considers any of those areas part of his neighborhood, etc., I wouldn't presume to know.

But it's also not so simple as better location = no hold-ups. I've been told, from someone who should know, that several Rittenhouse Square-area restaurants were held up in a single weekend in October. And I've heard of other restaurants in very nice neighborhoods that have been held up, too. Which is just a way of saying it's complex, on a lot of levels.

[phungi]

Drove by Zeke's this morning and talked to a guy waiting outside (he appeared to be working there) for them to open. He said they have cleaned the place up, that they will be opening next week, and that I should tell everyone.

From the outside, I could see that they have new menu boards hanging up, and the place appears very clean. I'm ready for some good BBQ!

[TarteTatin]

We had a pulled pork sandwich, meaty ribs, cornbread, collard greens and baked beans tonight.

Got them from Zeke's....!

Driving back from the burbs around 5:00 this afternoon. In the area, so thought we'd see if Zeke's was open to get some take-out.

Prentice Cole (the owner), was there and so were three other parties...but they were trying to close up. Outside of the restaurant there was lots of wood, since they smoke everything there, it makes sense. And, the smell coming from the restaurant! As we left our car, it just filled my nose. Yum.

We weren't ready to eat yet, so brought it home in the car. Boy, was that ride home tormenting!

Anyway, the pulled pork was super, bread was just okay. The ribs were delicious, tasty, meaty and fatty. Both could have used a bit more sauce, I thought. But they were both very moist. The cornbread was good, a little undercooked in the middle...collard's had nice big bits of ham in them, baked beans were okay, but dipped the pulled pork in the baked bean sauce and it was super.

There is enough left for a full meal tomorrow too.

[johnb102]

Stopped in for lunch last week, and the good news is that they were open and the food was as good as ever. The bad news is that it looked depressingly slow, and the place was a mess.

The soda equipment was dismantled and sitting around. The dessert case was empty and no desserts were available at all. The case in the front with the side dishes was only half full. They still had all the same sides, but there were only small containers of each, probably because they don't sell that much in a day. The result was that the case looked empty.

Overall, I hope they can make it, but it didn't look likely.

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

Take heart! Next week folks will be back from the beach.

[phungi]

I called today thinking about a pulled pork sandwich, and the number is disconnected...

oh well...

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

If you're anywhere near Drexel Hill, try Pig Daddy's, thye have great pulled pork & beef brisket sandwiches, not to mention ribs (beef on weekends only.)