Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad Cooper.
Hi Brad, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 1996, I moved to my hometown of Midland, Texas to escape the city life and help my father out. My father had a soul food restaurant attached to the church where he served as senior pastor. While helping him with the business, I became fascinated with experimenting with his different BBQ recipes, specifically for ribs and brisket. I ended up developing my own vibe and recipes that everyone grew to enjoy. A short time later, I moved back to San Diego and went to nursing school. While working as a nurse, I would bring food to my co-workers on my unit and they would just rave about the food. That led to me preparing BBQ dinners on the weekend and selling them to the customers at the local beauty salons and barbershops. Literally, I would fill my truck with dinners and deliver them around the city until they were gone. The whole time I had a desire to open a restaurant but no capital to move forward with. Finally, I decided to step out on faith and Coop’s West Texas BBQ, the restaurant opened 11 years ago – through hard work and prayer.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The major obstacle I faced at the beginning was not having business capital to start my business with. Everything that we bought/secured came out of me and my wife’s bank account. There was no loan. There was no help. Just us. Once I got up and running, it was hard to find dependable staff but I have been blessed with an incredible core group now. Current challenges include dealing with the labor shortage, managing supply chain shortages and tempering the backlash that can sometimes come from not having customer favorites due to the meat shortage!
As you know, we’re big fans of C00ps West Texas BBQ. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Coops West Texas BBQ
For amazing, authentic slow-smoked barbecue visit Coop’s West Texas BBQ. We take our time Smoking Our Meats, Crafting our Sauces, serving our Tasty Sides, and topping it all off with Delicious Dessert! We take our time to prepare each dish from our kitchen. We also pride ourselves on outstanding customer service every time you visit us!
Hours: 10am – 3pm, Tuesday- Sunday
Contact Info:
- Email: coopswtcatering@gmail.com
- Website: coopsbbq.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coopsbbq/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoopsBBQ/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/coops-west-texas-bbq-lemon-grove-2
Image Credits
@coopsbbq Instagram
