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High Country sings the blues |
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Thursday, 07 September 2006 |
by LINDSAY CRAVEN
Lifestyles Editor
Songs of heartbreak and loss can be heard ringing from Baxter’s Smokehouse, but it is not because of the food.
On its grand opening Monday, Baxter’s Smokehouse brought a new barbecue restaurant and musical venue to the high country.
“[The restaurant] is set up in a blues theme, we’ve decorated the walls
with pictures of blues artists, a kind of blues graffiti I guess,”
Baxter’s Smokehouse General Manager Jim W. Coggins said.
Baxter’s offers barbecue and other southern foods, Coggins said.
The bar will offer a similar selection as The Library Food and Spirits
but will expand by offering southern beers from Atlanta, Tennessee and
North Carolina.
 Active Image | David Mulvaney | The Appalachian
"Baxters Smokehouse located off Hwy 321 past Walmart. The barbecue restaurant is also a blues bar."
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Its house beer will be Crawdad Red, which is made by Hickory Brewery and is not offered anywhere else in the area.
Its beverages will also be offered in 60-ounce jugs to add to the ambiance of the restaurant.
Other decorative quirks for the restaurant include lights created from
suspended mason jars and plasma screens broadcasting blues legends.
The restaurant is replacing the former Wishbones location on Highway 321, Blowing Rock Road.
It is under the same owners, Baxter Palmer and the Palmer family of Palmer’s Restaurants, Inc. They also own The Library.
“There’s a good chance that we’ll be doing some cooperative advertising and some community events,”
The Library General Manager Blake S. Sorensen said.
The Library does not foresee significant competition because they are geared toward different age groups.
The owners decided to make a change after researching the area and finding a high demand for a good barbecue restaurant.
“We just wanted something different from your commercial restaurants
like TGIFridays, and Applebee’s,” Coggins said. “We wanted something a
little nostalgic in the high country. Tourists come to the high country
to get away and go to places like Mast General Store and other
nostalgic places like that and we wanted to offer it.”
Coggins said the restaurant has received a positive response thus far.
“Opening night was a really good turnout for us,” Coggins said. “We had
a lot of locals come in to visit to see what we’re all about and they
gave us very positive feedback.”
Community leaders have high expectations for the restaurant as well.
“I think it looks lovely on the outside and I think it will be a great
asset to the community,” Boone Mayor Loretta Clawson said.
Baxter’s is a family oriented restaurant geared toward both the Boone community and Appalachian State University students.
“We have something for everyone to enjoy from children to senior citizens,” Coggins said.
“We just want to cater to everybody and make their experience in the high country more pleasant.”
Baxter’s is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
The bar will be open until 2 a.m. on the weekends with live music beginning at 6 p.m. and ending at approximately 9 p.m.
This weekend will feature the musical talents of the King Bees and Big
Ron Hunter. Contact Baxter’s Smokehouse for more information at
262-0002.
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