Mimsy’s Leads Emergence of Tourism in Crockett
By Kelly Nicol
Messenger Publisher
CROCKETT – A long overdue ribbon-cutting ceremony was celebrated at Mimsy’s Craft Barbecue, LLC. on Saturday, Dec. 17. The now famous BBQ restaurant was opened two years almost to the date, but due to COVID concerns, the world seemed to want to shut down.
Mimsy’s, on the other hand, was focused on opening up a destination barbeque restaurant that would draw people from all over to try their version of Texas barbeque.
Assisted by Chuck and Kim Spellman, the group started
construction and made it their own. Most everything in the restaurant was handmade and meticulously placed until they were satisfied with the result.
When the construction stage was completed and the restaurant was ready to unveil to the world, COVID was in full swing – but this did not deter owners Wade and Kathy Elkins – who quietly had a soft opening and went to work on building their dream restaurant’s reputation.
The couple – who were high school sweethearts at Magnolia High School – had been trained well for the task.
Wade (Pitmaster) had cut his teeth in the Houston BBQ scene at several well respected bbq institutions such as Reveille BBQ, Ferges BBQ, and their own popup, My Yard Reaction BBQ.
Kathy was a culinary arts graduate from the Art institute of Houston and honed her skill working at several successful restaurants around the houston area including Giacamo’s, Harold’s, and Hubble and Hudson.
Wade and Kathy quickly went to work adding new and interesting items to their menu that really set them apart from your ordinary barbecue restaurant – items such as hush puppies with pimento cheese and an occasional appearance from Kathy’s past such as smoked lasagna.
The barbeque that was produced from the very beginning was worthy of being in the same conversations with the top places around the state.
This was confirmed by Mimsy’s making the most prestigious list in the barbecue industry (Texas Monthly Top 50) just a year after opening their doors.
When asked about where he thought the restaurant would be at this point, Wade stated that they were well ahead of their expectations.
“We received the Texas Monthly Top 50 and have
already opened our meat market,” Wade said.
The meat market sells beef from K-Hill Ranch, owned by Chuck and Kim Spellman, along with housemade sausages and cheeses from around the world.
“ We have a lot of plans and will soon have our own spice lines out. Things are going very well,” Wade said.
The event was a celebration of two years of hard work paying off. Many friends and family were at the event – featuring live entertainment including Brent Price, Buford Snowden and Nigel Edison.
Friends from the BBQ industry also showed up to support Wade and Kathy. Nomad BBQ was on point with their pork and green chile stew that was served until gone. Also, special guests Boerne Brand Hot Sauce was on hand as well as JWAC Distribution, who were representing their sodas that are sold in the meat market. Perhaps the most interesting guest was M&M BBQ, a pit manufacturer out of Tool, Texas.
Mike and Matt have been friends and since middle school and have shared a love for barbecue and fabrication. Their work is featured all over the world at some of the most prestigious locations such as the Wynn in Las Vegas (it would not surprise me to soon see one of their creations at Mimsy’s.)
These friends were made on the BBQ trail. They bonded through festivals and a common love of cooking BBQ.
The event kicked off with the ribbon-cutting ceremony by the Crockett Area Chamber of Commerce led by Chamber Executive Director Liza Clark.
It was a great crowd and you could feel the sense that this was not just an event for Mimsy’s but a resurgence for the City of Crockett.
Most of the guest stayed downtown in the loft of what once was Tchoupitoulas and is now a beard trimming and grooming shop that people from around the state come to visit.
Several new businesses focused on tourism around that area are popping up such as the Crockett Wine Emporium and Bear Hall.
Another new business is Filthy Gringos (a shop that specializes in chrome parts for motorcycles but can really be considered a Metal Art shop. They have produced most of the new signs that you see around town)
Filthy Gringos, along with several other new businesses, are in the works will look to make Crockett a destination point on the road map of Texas. Congratulations to Mimsy’s on their Grand Opening and good luck to all the new business that are hopefully making Crockett the next big thing.
