Today we got a 1 star review on Google. And we weren’t even open.
It said, “1 star. Closed today, see you tomorrow” quoting the handwritten sign we’d put on the door.
I wish we operated a restaurant prior to social media, websites, and Google, Yelp, Trip Advisor reviews. I can imagine how freeing it would be to not worry about every encounter at the restaurant or foodtruck, wondering if the silent and stoic party of 6, all looking at and typing on their phones, are leaving negative reviews, or just catching up on emails.
But the fact is, we live and operate Big Stick Barbecue in the year 2024, and in our seven years reviews have been extremely important for our visibility on these search engines. We are very proud of our ratings, our 5 star reviews are off the charts, and we are thankful for every single one of them. 5 star reviews move you up on the search engines, and 1-3 stars move you down, so that you’re not found until page 3 or 4 or more of the search. Way back in the beginning of our first foodtruck days we were stuck on page 7 of the google search for “restaurants near me” not because our food or service was bad, but because we were new, an unknown. But we worked hard and built up our clientele, earned the trust of returning customers, and they began sharing the good news of the Best BBQ in Bellingham.
Back to the sign on the door.
On Saturday afternoon Rick said “We are probably going to have to close on Tuesday. We don’t have enough applewood for both Sunday and Tuesday service.” He was right. Sunday evening walking out through the back of the garage, there wasn’t a single stick of wood to burn.
This has never happened to us in the 7 years we’ve been operating. I was confused about what happened, what caused this shortage. We’d placed our order on time, our supplier is extremely reliable. Where on earth was our applewood.
Well…It looks like it was directly related to the 2021 Washington Climate Commitment Act (CCA) a state law that provided a cap and investment program designed to reduce green house gas emission by 95% by 2050….which includes reducing or eliminating woodfire heating, and directly effects woodfired cooking. As a result, many farmers receive credit for chipping their orchards rather than selling their wood to burn.
What does that mean to Big Stick Barbecue and many of your other favorite restaurants in Bellingham?
It means that economical applewood availablilty is being reduced and prices are going up, and unfortunately for Big Stick Barbecue, we were unable to secure our regular load of wood last week. As a result we had NO WOOD to burn for Tuesday, July 9. Not a stick.
So the sign went up on the door.
Fortunately, our supplier was able to get our load of apple, and it was delivered today. We’ll be cooking tonight for Wednesday service, and all will be right with the world again.
That 1 star review might smart for a hot minute, but we’ll be fine. And to the guy that wrote it, we get it, we’d be bummed too if we couldn’t get the best BBQ in the county, but know this, we are working on creative ways to get the applewood we need to continue making the barbecue we’re known for. We really are honored to have so many new and returning guests.
We love what we do and will continue to do whatever it takes to be open and serve you, our old and new friends.
Closed today, but see you tomorrow!
Big Stick BBQ 