Council Grove residents already know Jonny V’s BBQ for its smoked meats, catering, pop-up events and now its move into a permanent home. But for Jon and Tawnie Talib, the opening of their own brickand-mortar restaurant is not simply a new business venture. It is the result of years of work, lessons learned, family decisions and a long path that began well before the doors opened in the former BGs location at 15 N. Neosho, Council Grove.
Jon said barbecue started for him as a child. His father always had a Weber charcoal grill, and grilling was part of birthdays, family gatherings and almost any occasion that gave them a reason to cook outside.
By the time Jon was 16 or 17, he was already grilling on his own. At 19, he took an electric grill his mother had received, removed the heating elements and converted it into a smoker. That first homemade smoker was used in Council Grove, when his mother was living on Hockaday St. courthouse.
Although barbecue became his public identity in Council Grove, Jon’s background is broader than smoked brisket and ribs. He describes himself as a second-generation chef. His mother and father both worked in the culinary field, and his father was executive chef at Twin Hills Golf and Country Club in Oklahoma City. Jon said he started working banquets at about age 15, which helped make catering feel natural to him later.
Jon attended school in Council Grove but dropped out, a decision he said he deeply regrets. He later earned his GED and went on to culinary school in Las Vegas. While attending Le Cordon Bleu, he worked long hours to support himself, including 10-hour shifts at the Bellagio and additional shifts at the Cheesecake Factory at Green Valley Ranch.
The Las Vegas years also gave Jonny V’s its name. Jon said after working at the Bellagio and around high-level chefs, he went to Houston to help his father with a catering company. He admitted he arrived with too much pride and not enough humility. His family began teasing him by calling him “Jonny Vegas.” Jon said he told his father that if he ever had his own business, he would use the name. Jonny V’s was born from that family nickname, with the “V” standing for Vegas.
Jon’s road back to Council Grove included time away, work in Galveston and eventually a return he first thought would be temporary. It was after coming back that he met Tawnie.
Tawnie, a 2008 graduate, had gone to Manhattan after high school for cosmetology school. She finished the schooling portion but did not complete the practicums needed to work in a salon. She became a mother young and that’s when the couple met. Now they have been together for about 15 years.
Tawnie said cooking was not originally her interest and in fact, she did not cook much when she and Jon first got together. Jon, already a chef, brought home food and flowers and cooked memorable meals. Over time, however, Tawnie began taking on more of the business.
For years, Tawnie said, she wanted the public side of Jonny V’s more than the work behind it. She could help set up, greet people and represent the business well because she was from Council Grove and knows many people. But the cooking, smoking, sides, preparation and long hours were Jon’s world.
That gradually changed as Jonny V’s grew. Tawnie took on more responsibility, including calls, emails, invoices and communication with customers. Jon describes her as the face of Jonny V’s. Tawnie said she may not be the backbone of the smoked meats, but she became the backbone of the organization and customer side of the business.
The couple had tried restaurant settings before. Jon said one of his early attempts was in the former donut shop and now Dealership Building location. He described it as a failure, but also as a major learning experience. He later operated out of the old saloon for about nine months. That venture brought success with food, but it also came at a cost.
At the time, Jon was working at Alma Foods, running the restaurant on weekends and helping with the bar operation. He said he and Tawnie were putting in extremely long days while their children were still young and paying several hundred dollars a weekend for childcare. Eventually, they stepped back and decided to wait until their children were older.
But they never fully stopped. Even when they stopped advertising heavily, people continued to call about catering. Jonny V’s kept operating in smaller ways, building a following through word of mouth.
A later arrangement at the Dealership Building helped the business grow again. Jon said that partnership worked because the terms were clear: rent, a percentage of sales and mutual belief in one another.
Still, Tawnie said Realto Ryan Moss had asked more than once whether they were ready for their own space. They kept saying no. The dealership arrangement was working, and they were hesitant to take on the financial and personal risk of owning a building.
That changed when Moss contacted Tawnie about the former BG’s location. Tawnie said when she learned which building was available, “my heart sunk.” She knew the space could work for them.
Jon said the size was part of the appeal. Some people questioned whether the building was too small, but he considered that a compliment. He said about 80 percent of their sales were already to-go orders, and the space could serve as both a small restaurant and a catering headquarters.
The couple began seriously working toward the purchase in September and closed on the building April 30. Tawnie said they worked with Nick Jones at the City of Council Grove, Chuck Scott at Greater Morris County Development Corporation and Washburn’s small business resources. They completed research, Zoom meetings, financial forecasts and other homework to determine whether the business plan was realistic.
Tawnie had already decided that the school year would be her last working at the school. She planned to continue working at Watts Coffee Co., a job she loves, while giving more time to Jonny V’s. She said the timing made her feel ready to “bet on us.”
Jon was more cautious. He said he had to consider not only his own dream, but also the future of their family. With children in high school and another close behind, he said he could not be selfish about pursuing a restaurant if it put his family at risk. His attitude was that if the building was still available when they were ready, it was meant to be.
Now, Jonny V’s has moved from pop-ups and catering into its own home. The menu during the soft-start period included brisket, pork, chicken and ribs, with sides such as potato salad, mac and cheese, pit beans, coleslaw and cornbread muffins. Jon said they also planned to bring back popular items such as pulled pork nachos and burnt ends. Over time, he hopes to incorporate more soul food, including greens, boudin, dirty rice, gumbo and other family recipes with Houston roots.
The restaurant is expected to open at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for now, with service continuing until food runs out. Because Jonny V’s also has a catering business, the couple said some weekends may require adjusted hours when catering events are scheduled.
Catering remains a major part of the business. Tawnie said they have also developed a bulk menu for customers who want meat by the pound and sides by the half-pan, rather than a full-service catered event.
Inside the restaurant, Jon and Tawnie want the atmosphere to matter as much as the food. The kitchen is open, meaning customers can see much of the work being done. They want customers to hear music, see the meat being sliced and feel welcomed.
For Jon, the work still begins long before the doors open. He sleeps on a blow-up mattress in the restaurant while smoking meats overnight. In the past, he set alarms and slept in short stretches to check temperatures. He recently ordered a multiprobe thermometer system that will alert him if smoker or meat temperatures move outside the range he wants. For him, that is part of the work.
“You’ve got to want to do it,” Jon said.That may be the simplest explanation for Jonny V’s BBQ. It is a restaurant, a catering business and a family operation. But more than that, it is the product of charcoal grills, culinary school, long shifts, failed starts, lessons learned, smalltown support and a couple deciding the time had come to take the next step.
The business may be new in its permanent location, but for Jon and Tawnie Talib, Jonny V’s BBQ has been years in the making.
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.