Last Day at the Teller House JKQ barbecue is moving from its current location in the Teller House in Central City down the street to Crook’s Palace in Black Hawk. Saturday. February 6, 2022, was their last day in the current location. From left, Kara and Joe Tinucci, Denise Kilmer and Chef Chris Herrin. PHOTO BY BARBARA HARDT[/caption]

JKQ barbecue is moving from its current location in the Teller House in Central City down the street to Crook’s Palace in Black Hawk. Joe Tinucci and his wife, Kara, own the restaurant in the Teller House, where they have been for three years. Joe said that JKQ stands for Joe, Kara, and his son, who has had the nickname Q since he was born.

They will be moving to Crook’s Palace. They are doing equipment testing and cleaning it. It is a lot of work.

“It’s exciting to watch all of the cars driving by the location. It will provide a lot more parking with a parking lot by the restaurant.” At the Teller House location, customers have to find a spot on the street or park in the Teller House parking lot about a block away.

The bar at the Teller House is well known for the “Face on the Barroom Floor,” a painting of a woman’s face on the wooden floor, done in 1936 by local artist Herndon Davis, as a joke after being fired by the Teller House. See the poem at: https://images.app.goo.gl/ czgn4zAPiLx8ynRV6

The building opened in 1991 as a casino, which operated until 2000. A new management company reopened the casino in 2005, but it closed again later that year.

JKQ Barbecue will be moving to the Crook’s Palace building at 200 Gregory Street in Black Hawk. Joe said the Crook’s Palace building has been vacant for 12 years, but the owner of the Sasquatch Casino has been leasing the parking lot with the lease ending in May.

Tinucci said he has a food trailer, and he plans to bring it to the location for the first month. They plan a soft opening in May.

They will be part of the Black Hawk HARD District Plaza, which will have a Grand Opening in June, so they are planning for their Grand Opening at that time. Regarding the Teller House, he thinks they want another restaurant there, but he hasn’t heard anything about it.

The Black City Council considered a request for JKQ Consolidated, LLC, dba JKQ BBQ & Grill at 200 Gregory Street, for a New Hotel & Restaurant Liquor License at its meeting on February 23, 2022. The Council approved a public hearing on the license for April 13.

According to Facebook, Joe and Kara started in Central City as a street vendor participating in local events. They developed a catering business and finally grew the business as a storefront in the the Teller House

Joe learned to smoke foods in Memphis, Tennessee. He continued to smoke foods as a hobby until he met Kara. Together they opened a food truck in Las Vegas, Nevada, and were voted best of Las Vegas twice.

They brought their passion for barbecue to Central City and have continued to serve smokin’ good BBQ. “We slow smoke our meats over hickory and applewood. We hand pull our pulled pork and trim each brisket. We are also scratch making our sides.”

Menu items include appetizers such as fried cheese curds, loaded fries or tater tots, five salads, smoked meat by the pound for pulled pork, brisket, chicken, lamb, Kielbasa, salmon and sides such as potato salad, slaw, mac & cheese or beans.

Sandwiches include all of the above meats and specialties such as The Motherload with brisket, pulled pork, slaw and banana peppers, the Piggy Pie with pulled pork, bacon and slaw, and the Colorado Style Cheesesteak with cheesesteak, green chili and pepper jack. They also offer ribs and platters.

For more information, go to https:// www.facebook.com/JkqBbq/.