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Kiser’s Will Open Court Street Location In August

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Just five years after introducing his barbecue to Athens, Sean Kiser is slated to open his third Kiser’s Barbeque location this summer – this time on Court Street.

Kiser said he hopes to open a new restaurant in the former Quiznos location (42 S. Court St.) near the beginning of August. The restaurant will be called Kiser’s Barbeque: On Court.

Kiser opened his first restaurant inside The Market on State in April 2009. He later expanded to the former Eclipse Company Store in The Plains, which is primarily used for special events such as weddings. Kiser said he wanted to keep the former coal mining company store available for special events while also serving the public.

He said the business model of his first two locations will remain mostly unchanged as the third restaurant opens this summer. He anticipates hiring between seven and 10 new employees. Kiser said he’d be hiring in the next few weeks.

According to Kiser, the new downtown eatery will have more of a “fast serve, in and out” model. He said the restaurant will have a set up similar to Subway or Chipotle in which customers can create their own sandwich by selecting their meat, sauce and toppings.

The four main meats to be featured include pulled pork, brisket, smoked turkey and barbecue tofu. Kiser said that the meats will be smoked daily at Kiser’s other two locations and then transported to the Court Street location. The downtown location will also feature a “30 mile meal” salad bar, using only local ingredients from area farmers. Kiser said the salad bar will feature produce that’s in season.

Kiser said that the Court Street location will likely be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

“If late night presents itself as viable option, we may be open later on Fridays and Saturdays,” he said.

Kiser said that because the location had formerly served as a Quiznos, much of the infrastructure needed is already in place.

When he opened his first restaurant, Kiser said he didn’t imagine that he’d have three locations within five years. He said he always wanted a location on Court Street and the vacant storefront lent itself to the opportunity.

“It’s almost perfect,” he said.

Kiser said that the original location is still seeing new customers daily, many from nearby communities who heard about the barbecue. Additionally, he said the Eclipse location is booked well into the future.

The Eclipse location will host Kiser’s Jammin’ Hog Music & BBQ Festival this weekend in conjuction with Ohio Brew Week, featuring food, craft beer and live music each night (Friday-Sunday).

“We keep landing in situations that present themselves to us,” he said. “We’re going with the flow of things.”

Kiser said he always pictured his company growing, even outside of Athens.