Opening of Blaccghst BBQ in Cedar Rapids fulfills man’s dream

CEDAR RAPIDS - At the Cenex gas station at the corner of Fifth Street NW and E Avenue NW, an unexpected scent fills the air: barbecue.

Tucked behind a small counter in the station, Blaccghst BBQ has set up shop, serving such things as homemade brisket, burgers, pulled pork and chicken, cornbread and sides.

The name - Blaccghst - is pronounced Black Ghost. Owner Antoine Jenkins, 38, says 'Ghost” was a teenage nickname, because he tended to slip out of social situations unnoticed. He doesn't mind if people have to ask how to pronounce his eatery's name, he says.

'For me, it's more of a personal thing. I'm trying to put that name into my new life,” he says. 'And on the business side, it's a conversation starter.”

Blaccghst's gas station setup is small - a cooler, tiny griddle, warmer and a three dish crockpot behind a counter, with a combination grill and smoker set up outside the building. But Jenkins is used to working small - Blaccghst started in 2013 as a temporary booth at NewBo City Market. They set up there on weekends and did barbecue competitions and festivals.

'As long as I have my grill, I can do pretty much anything,” Jenkins says. 'It's efficient for me. It works.”

The thought that maybe this could be a career dawned slowly for Jenkins. He started out grilling for family and friends, and slowly people started asking him to barbecue for birthday parties or other events.

Then, in March, 2012, his brother CJ Jenkins died after a motorcycle accident. That year, Antoine Jenkins also had a kidney transplant and went through a divorce.

'I decided, you're either going to break, or your going to make,” he says.

Before his brother died, Jenkins promised him he would live life to the fullest. And so one day after returning to work from bereavement leave, he handed in the keys at his job as a production supervisor at Garment Designs in Marion. He hasn't looked back since.

In 2014, Blaccghst set up a catering operation out of Julia-N-LeChef Catering at 426 First Ave. NW. Eventually, Jenkins envisions a full, sit-down restaurant in addition to the catering business. The gas station is a good middle step, he says.

'I've been taking baby steps. This is perfect for me - I can test it out,” he says.

At the station, the small setup keeps daily offerings limited. He is working on a weekly menu, which will rotate with a different featured item each day, plus a changing special.

He likes trying unusual combinations - like hamburgers topped with mashed potatoes or gyro meat tacos.

'I was always about doing things outside the norm,” he says. 'And it comes from watching the Food Network, too.”

Jenkins says he loves everything about barbecuing.

'The grill, the charcoal, sweating and getting it,” he says. 'It's like riding a motorcycle, almost, or a horse - one of those wind-in-your-hair type feelings. You're outdoors, you can do what you want, you can put something down and have people love it.”