Edgemere's 'Pig Man' to Open Permanent Trough

Longtime Edgemere residents Steve and Lorraine Austin are about to put some business roots down in town as well.

The proprietors of This Swine's for You, a nomadic barbecue stand and catering business, have signed a lease to move in to the North Point Road storefront most recently occupied by the Shallow Creek Bookstore Cafe.

"We have a lot of work to do but we're hoping to have a soft opening in mid-June," Steve Austin said last month. "We're going to start with baby steps, and be open just on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until things get rolling."

In spite of having three catering gigs scheduled for June 8, the couple now hopes to have the storefront at 7216 North Point Road open this weekend.

Many people are already familiar with Austin's talent grilling and smoking pit meats. He and his wife have set up a pit stand on the front parking lot of Donovan's bar in Edgemere for about 12 years.

They have developed a loyal customer base that snaps up their pit beef, turkey, ham and pork sandwiches, whether at the Donovan's location or at a private party.

"One of the main reasons we want to set up a permanent store is because customers have asked us to," Steve Austin said. "They want to know they will always be able to get our food."

Until now, the stand at Donovan's was set up only on Sundays, and only under certain circumstances—temperature extremes prevented the couple from setting up at the bar, as did private catering gigs.

The juggling act of balancing private catering commitments with the schedule of a permanent shop will continue, Austin said.

"The hard part will still be to be able to open the shop with people who can provide the quality of food I expect on those dates when we have catering gigs," Austin said.

Austin, a fiber optics specialist with Broadcast Sports Inc., will not give up his job to run the shop. But Lorraine, a personal assistant to students with special needs at Sollers Point Technical High School, will quit that job at the end of the school year and devote more time to the family business.

When the shop opens, the menu will include the pit basics of ham, turkey, beef and pork, as well as beans and coleslaw.

"And we're going to add grilled chicken breasts and sweet and hot sausage," Austin said. "We'll also have pasta and potato salads."

Once open, the Austins will strive to keep the hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, according to Steve Austin.

"It's down the road a bit, but we'll eventually ramp up to a six-day, Tuesday through Sunday, 11-to-7 operation," he said.

The pit will be built in the back of the shop, in a fenced-in area. Eventual plans call for picnic tables so customers can sit outside if they'd like, Austin said. Seating will also be available in the store for those who don't want to take their meals to go.

"We'd like to eventually put a stove with vent inside, where people can watch what we're doing, a la Charleston," Austin said. "We don't want to hide anything; we want to be up front and have people know they can trust what we do."

As for this weekend, Austin said there's one sure way to figure out if the new stand will be serving the couple's signature slow-smoked meats.

"If the big red truck's outside, we're open," Austin said of Swine's well-known red box truck with a pig painted on the side.