At least Harford Road residents still have Big Bad Wolf. I love the Kansas City Sauce.

Sadly, it is indeed closed permanently, and it did indeed have great food. (I am a merchant on that same strip - the owner sent out an email to the community saying that he has relocated to the west coast to serve as executive chef in another BBQ venture.)

There will be another cafe, called River Birch, opening in Alabama's place shortly.

Jay Belle, owner of Alabama BBQ, sent out emails to supporters earlier this month explaining that he had to close because he was losing so much money.

He had been struggling for over a year. He has moved to California to manage a restaurant for a BBQ chain out there. The Harford Road restaurant is expected to reopen shortly, with a new name, under management by his former business partners.

Jay was a good man who was dedicated to producing authentic barbecue. It's too bad he couldn't make it.

From the Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville listserve (not sure of the orig. source):

Baltimore, Maryland, Monday, January 12, 2009 - - Alabama BBQ Company permanently closed its Baltimore restaurant at 4311 Harford Road in Lauraville, on Saturday, January 3, 2009.

“It is time to stop the bleeding and accept the fact that recovery from recently poor performance is impossible”, said chef/owner Jay Belle. He added, “My business doesn’t qualify for a bailout and even if it did, I couldn’t pay it back”.

Known for its authentic BBQ, Alabama BBQ Company opened in May 2007 and enjoyed a successful run in the City. Its unique menu selections like Red Hot Apple Sauce, BBQ Nachos, Smoked Chicken Salad, Championship Ribs and award-winning sauces, Alabama BBQ Company had something for everyone.

Mr. Belle has accepted an executive chef position with a startup BBQ concept on the west coast and has already departed. When the economy improves, he plans on returning to the area and opening a new restaurant with a menu featuring inspired cuisine of the New South and less emphasis on BBQ.

During its tenure, Alabama BBQ Company was highly publicized for its authentic, wood smoked BBQ and homemade sides & desserts. It began feeling the effects of the weakened economy last fall as sales plunged and customer visits dwindled.

Former co-owner Ms. Louise Pantall is in the licensing process for River Birch Café, scheduled to pen soon. Her new menu features comfort food (meatloaf, baked chicken, seafood and sides). All meals will be prepared fresh when ordered with an expected wait time of less than 15-minutes.

“We’re excited to open and start making money instead of spending it getting the store ready”, she said.

Store hours have not been determined.

I went to PY in Canton yesterday and they were closed. There was a large quantity of mail accumulated on the floor inside the front door. Are they closed for good?

I heard a while back that Py was closed for good. It's a shame. I always liked their pies, plus they delivered. But I hear that they never figured out the supply chain and were often out of basic ingredients or even out of baked pies to sell slices when the bar crowd was hungry late at night.

PY?

Darn,
I wanted to try that Alabama BBQ place and its white sauce on my next trip up.

PY?

I thought I was the only one who didn't know.

Alabama BBQ was my favorite in town because of the chicken with the white sauce. But ya gotta wonder who thought it would draw crowds this far from Alabama.

Joyce and Eve, Py is (or apparently was) a brick oven pizza place on O'Donnell Square (the square popularly known as Canton Square).

My inner mathematician thinks they should have named it "Pi".

Py was a short-lived brick oven pizza place in O'Donnell Square in Canton (next to or at least close to Vaccaros). Nifty toppings, thin crust, tasty pizza, but apparently less good at the business end of things.

PY was a brick oven pizzeria on Canton Square that never really seemed to catch on. I did enjoy getting a slice to eat on the square while people watching.

Jay Belle's email said that he was clobbered by regulations against wood smoke pit cooking within the city limits.

He had to stop barbecueing the meat in town and make it on Kent Island to transport to Baltimore.

Alabama's ribs were out of this world. Since Jay had to cook them in advance, he never had enough to meet demand.

Wood smoke barbecue a nuisance? All the perfumes of Araby couldn't be sweeter.

My inner mathematician thinks they should have named it "Pi".

Especially if it's squared!

Thanks for the clarification, Hal, Kristin and RayRay. I'm not usually totally lost, but I was that time!

I'm really not too familiar with Canton, but it seemed to me from the limited times I've been there, that they now have enough of a live-in crowd to make a good pizza place work.

Evidently there's either no regs against wood smoke in the county or it's not enforced because pit beef is popping up everywhere. And Anonymous Mary - you are right - a scent from heaven above (wood smoke)!

MD Canon,
This part of Florida is really Lower Alabama, so it would draw me! Seriously, in these parts BBQ is taken seriously and there are some great places to get good 'cue. Maybe the owner was thinking people would connect Alabama and the Deep South as having great barbecue and try it out just on that.
Down here, most places serve the meat smoked but unsauced, and have several sauces on the table where you put on what kind and how much. Usually there are hot, spicy, sweet, and then sweet and spicy sauces. And that delicious white sauce at some places.

Anonymous Mary, I couldn't agree more about the sweet fragrance of wood-smoked barbecue.

I kept on wanting to get to Alabama BBQ, but I just never find myself in that part of the city. When I do, I end up at Big Bad Wolf.

I wonder if the location did them in. Not that Harford Road can't support good restaurants, but perhaps they couldn't support two authentic BBQ joints.

Why can Joe Squared have coal fired pizza when no wood smoking is allowed? Does Big Bad Wolf not smoke their meat?

With the use of anthracite there is very little smoke to upset the neighbors, which is what I think the problem probably was. When we got the health permits to install this oven we were told it would only be an issue if the neighbors started complaining.

Interesting comment on the wood smoke. Rub on Light Street smokes their meat, and don't see any issues there? And yes that smell is better than most odors coming out of the city....

That's a terrible shame. Jay was a very nice man with a great attitude and terrific food. You can't find that white BBQ sauce anywhere else around here. I was hoping when I drove by there the other day that it was just temporary, but the papered windows made me uneasy. What a loss for us.

Liz,
speaking of BBQ I THINK that Ray Lewis's joint in Canton is closed for good.

Don't get me wrong Joe. I love your pizza and would be crushed if the City forced you back to gas. It's just that the whole smoke no smoke thing just didn't make since.

Overall, I think Big Bad Wolf has better BBQ (chicken, ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and fresh seafood specials).

Alabama BBQ had generally good stuff and Jay was nice and the service was prompt and warm. But I think they got screwed on the no-smoking the BBQ in the city thing. There was a palpable sense and sight of being served food there that was cooked elsewhere which, after watching my brisket sandwich being made in a way that smacked of getting leftovers from my mother's kitchen (no matter how good that may be), I usually preferred to go to Big Bad Wolf instead, where things appear to be freshly made on premises.

And Alabama BBQ was always closed on the days when I wanted carryout. I can't tell you how many times I drove by ready for BBQ hoping they would be open but they weren't.