Just Q’in, the BBQ restaurant located in the Walnut Hills neighborhood in Cincinnati, will be operating a pop-up BBQ in Dayton this Saturday, Aug. 19, from noon until 5 p.m. at the Garage building, which is located at northwest corner of 6th Avenue and Main Street.
This is the first of two pop-up BBQ events that Matthew Cuff, Jr., owner of Just Q’in plans to hold in Dayton this summer.
“We think Dayton is a cool place that fits really well with the Texas BBQ vibe we try to create at our restaurant,” Cuff said. “We are excited to be a part of Dayton’s growing food scene of locally owned restaurants that are really good at what they do.”
Cuff said he wants to create a “Texas BBQ environment” at Saturday’s pop-up, a place where folks bring can folding chairs and just hang out with friends and family while enjoying the BBQ and summer afternoon.
“Like in Texas, we will provide free beer while you’re waiting for your food — or you can bring a drink of your choice from your favorite local establishment since we located are in the city’s new Rope Walk Entertainment District.”
If things go well with the Dayton pop-up events, Cuff said is considering opening a permanent brick-and-mortar restaurant at the Garage, which would likely be open initially on weekends and provide private catering services during the week.
“We’d like to be destination restaurant in Dayton, much like several of the restaurants that already are operating in the city and like our location on East McMillian in Walnut Hills,” he said.
Just Q’in has been operating in Walnut Hills for the past seven years.
“We were an early adopter in that neighborhood and have gradually built our business there,” Cuff said. “We’ve seen a big jump in business there over the last three years.”
Cuff started his BBQ experience competing BBQ contest in and around Greenville, S.C. before returning to his Cincinnati roots. He launched Just Q’ing as a catering service 2009 that evolved into one of the city’s premiere food trucks.
Cuff then added brick-and-mortar operations in Newton in 2011, which has since closed, and the location at 975 E. McMillan St. in Walnut Hills in 2016. Its motto of “Faith. Love. BBQ.”
On Jan. 4 of this year, President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to the Walnut Hills restaurant, where he had lunch after speaking in Covington about newly granted funding for a Brent Spence Bridge overhaul.