There are two major sources of heat in Drew Willard’s life. He’s a senior laser technician in Laser Systems Engineering and Operations, working on high- power, short-pulsed lasers that help scientists study the interiors of stars. But when he’s not on site, he prefers a lower, slower heat: the kind that helps barbecue develop its signature smoke ring and appealing flavor.
“I was always around barbecue,” Willard said. “A lot of Southern-influenced food, a lot of family from Louisiana and Texas making Creole and Texas-style barbecue. When I moved to California, I realized I couldn’t get any of that, so it kind of started the journey to learn more about how I can go about making barbecue for myself.”
He began reading as much as he could, making use of the white oak he was able to find on some family property in northern California. His first brisket “was terrible,” he said, but he connected with some award-winning pitmasters in Austin, Texas, who gave him some critical pointers.
“In the back of my mind, I wanted to bring Texas-style offset barbecue to Livermore,” he said. “I always thought it’d be a great place for it. I love the town.” An offset barbecue is one where the wood fire is in a separate chamber generating smoke that cooks the food. As his barbecue improved, though, he realized his backyard offset smoker wasn’t big enough to try his hand at the pop-up restaurant scene.
“I came home one day and told my wife, ‘I want to build a 500-gallon offset pit,’” he remembers. “Take a 500-gallon propane tank, then put half of a 250-gallon propane tank on the back as a firebox: now you’ve got an offset smoker.” He spent six months building the smoker in Sacramento; when he got it home, he named it after his grandmother Eula. A few permits and classes later, Smoke Cellar BBQ was born.
“We just started doing one thing at a time to start the business,” he said. “We started doing popups at the local breweries here in town, got really good responses and we started selling out. We’ve pretty much sold out every time we’ve cooked.”
Eula can cook 12 briskets and eight pork shoulders when fully loaded, all cooked in advance of a Smoke Cellar BBQ appearance at a farmers market, brewery or winery. Willard can spend 18 to 20 hours in a day trimming and cooking briskets, getting everything ready for a popup.
“I get to give them a little bite of brisket or whatever they want to try and get to see their reaction, and people love it. That’s what it’s all about: it’s the dream coming together right there. I’m actually serving Texas-style barbecue in Livermore, like I’ve always wanted to.”
Demand for Smoke Cellar BBQ has increased enough to justify the deployment of a second smoker, a “massive” 5,000-pound, 1,000-gallon offset smoker that can handle 25 briskets at a time. In accordance with tradition, it’s named after another family culinary legend: his other grandmother Betty.
