"Barbecue is big in this part of Mississippi, especially gas station barbecue. I would say you have a lot of guys who just want to cook barbecue. Then they team up with the store operator. It’s an easy marriage,” said Jeff Puckett, pitmaster and CEO of Hog Heaven BBQ.

Before Hog Heaven BBQ was born, there was a four-lane highway that ran in front of a convenience store that was soon to expand to six lanes. The owner of the c-store didn’t want to deal with the problems the construction could bring, so Puckett leased the c-store and began operating in 1998.

“The previous owner didn’t want to fight the construction, which lasted three or four years,” he said. “We started serving food to feed the construction workers on the highway, and that turned things around.”

Developing a great food program was important to the survival of the c-store. Puckett looked around and saw what was happening in c-stores around the area. “We copied someone who was doing only ribs and chicken. Then, we started doing breakfast sandwiches and lunch plates,” he said.

Over the years, Hog Heaven’s menu continued to expand. “We do pork, steaks, ribs, chicken, sausage, pulled pork and pulled chicken along with eight different sides. It’s straight carryout; you’re not clogging up the parking,” said Puckett.

HOG HEAVEN ON WHEELS

The community responded well to the food, and Puckett was looking for another opportunity to bring in new revenue, so he added a food truck in 2015.

“There were only a handful of them in the beginning. We were gobbling up the market. There’s a lot of them now. They come and go. Only the strong survive,” he explained.

The food truck is not on the road every day, as there’s simply not enough demand in Flowood, but it has another purpose. It serves as a rolling billboard that is part of what Puckett calls his “Three Capture Points.”

The first customer capture point is the food truck sitting in front of the store. “It’s like a sign. The cooking is done in pits behind the store. The truck is more for delivering. The store is the commissary for the food truck, and we retail it out of the store also,” he said.

The second point is the reader board in front of the station right under gas prices.

The third is the pump monitor. “I program it inside the store and send it out to the pump. I have a couple of messages, and I advertise beer and lottery tickets,” he said, adding, “You have to have three capture points to get in [customers’] minds that they want to eat. The more it happens, the more the impulse grows.”

In addition to the visual capture points, there is an olfactory strategy.

“When they’re pumping gas, they’re smelling the smoke. If you can get in their minds that they need to come eat, they’re going to come in. When they step in the door, they smell it, it’s over. You’ve sealed the deal,” he explained.

Besides barbecue, “Chicken and sausage gumbo is one of the most popular menu items. It’s the Monday special,” said Puckett.

DIVERSIFICATION

In the intensely competitive foodservice industry, being nimble and quickly seizing opportunities is important, and Puckett did that with the local Veterans Affairs hospital.

It all started when the hospital decided to bring food trucks in to offer more choices for the veterans. A number of food trucks responded, but Hog Heaven BBQ stood out.

“I call it the three-headed monster: the store, the food truck and the hospital. The meat is cooked at the store. The sides are done at the store,” he said.

“They liked our food and invited me to bring in more options for the veterans. I was competing with other food trucks, and my numbers blew them out of the water,” he said.

STAYING POWER

“There were four gas stations within this block, and now there’s only two of us left. I attribute that to me just staying around and being there,” Puckett said.

There’s something special about when the restaurant owner visits with customers to see if their meals are going well. It’s personal and diners feel special. Puckett does this and sees his personal attention to customers as a critical part of his success.

“I’m just interacting with customers. The food is only as good as the smile that serves it,” he said.

“Every plate that gets made is me and my wife putting it together and handing it to customers. It’s me, her and two other employees. We’re always with the customers. You can’t put someone between the owner and customer. They want to know you. We’ve tried it other ways. We’ve hired other people to do this, that and the other, but it didn’t work. You have to be there,” he said.

Puckett’s wife, Marla, is special to customers. “They love my wife. She’s always smiling and talking to them. They like me OK, but if Marla’s not here, they want to know where she’s at,” he said.

Social media has not been a priority with Puckett, a controversial stance. “Word of mouth has been covering me. A lot of people count too heavily on social media. You have to talk to people and get in their ears. You have to get to know the customers. If they feel they know the owner, man they’ll keep coming there. They like that personal connection.”