Alameda Business Spotlight: Bonnie's Southern Style BBQ

Owner: Bonnie Kwon

When did open? Our grand opening was Nov. 14, 2010.

What do you serve? All of our meats are smoked with apple wood. Our brisket and pulled pork go in the smoker for 14 hours. We also have baby back ribs and St. Louis-style ribs, hot links and seasoned deep-fried pork chops smothered in mushroom gravy. For sides, we have the traditional ones like yams, mac and cheese, greens and barbequed baked beans — everyone raves about those.

Where do your recipes come from? Mostly from my mom. Some from me. A lot of them are home recipes that we developed over the years.

And what about the barbeque sauce? Our sauce is a secret! My mom makes all the sauces — sweet, regular and spicy. The spicy is pretty spicy — your mouth starts burning after a while. Our sweet sauce is named for my daughter Makayla, and our spicy one is named for my son Roman, because he’s the spicy one.

I notice you have fried pickles on the menu. Yes, they’re just delicious! We cut dill pickles into quarters, dip them in beer batter and deep-fry them.

Is it a southern thing? I don’t know, but they deep-fry everything else!

What about desserts? Our head cook, Dustin Vorkoeper, is a pastry chef. He makes our desserts. The dessert menu changes, but we have favorites such as sweet potato pie or red velvet cake.

What’s it been like doing business here in Alameda? It’s been a pretty good experience. The community has welcomed us with open arms. People like our food. I lived here when I was really little and then moved away. Three years ago, I visited my best friend and I fell in love with Alameda. I love the people, I love the community, I love the small town feel. So we moved back.