A dream fulfilled by the original owners more than 25 years ago, Sweetwater BBQ of St. Robert has ended its run as one of the staples of area barbecue lovers.
Sweetwater BBQ, located off I-44 at 14076 Hwy. Z in St. Robert, officially closes its doors for good Sunday, Dec. 22.
Co-owners Georgie Trotter and her niece, Ukiko Williams, are retiring the business, which opened in 1998.
“Why? Because I’m 70 years old!” laughed Trotter of the retirement. “We’re a little sad. But it’s just time for me. And Ukiko has other ventures she wants to look into.”
It was, indeed, a love of the business, but also the love of family that kept the two going.
Even the property the restaurant was located on is about family.
“This I where I was raised, on this property. This is where we lived,” Trotter said. Pointing to a place on the property by the highway, she said, “This is where I waited for the bus to go to school.”
Trotter and the rest of her family have all attended Waynesville Public Schools since moving to the area. Trotter graduated from Waynesville High School in 1972. And she had a vision for what she wanted to do for a long time.
“I wanted to start this business since I was 15,” she said. “Dad was a cook in the military; I grew up in the restaurant business.”
Trotter worked at Fort Leonard Wood MWR for 30 years, before retiring there seven years ago. She was the manager for the military clubs, bowling center and golf course, all of which featured food service and catering.
Trotter and her older sister Edijon Saxton – Ukiko’s mother – were the original Sweetwater BBQ owners when the business opened in 1998.
“Our brothers – James, David and John Batchler – built this building,” Trotter said. “James was a brick mason.”
For the first few years it was mostly a take-out business, with a homemade premium pit and a carry-out counter.
“We had some seating, but it was very limited,” Williams said. “There were two tables.”
“We expanded the building a few years later,” Trotter added.
“We bought that counter five years before we opened,” Trotter recalled. “I engraved the flower that is still on the counter.”
Saxton passed away in May of 2017, and Ukiko began in the business in 2000 as one of the owners.
“The restaurant business was not what I was supposed to do with my life,” Williams said. “But it was just kind of a forte of mine.”
Trotter said the business usually employed between five and 10 persons. “We’ve had up to around 15,” she said.
And most of those employees were family, or friends of the family.
“Both of my daughters have worked for us,” Williams said.
“Both of my nephews work here,” Trotter said. “We employ friends and family. We tried to treat our customers like friends and family. So not only were we feeding friends and family, we hired friends and family!”
Indeed, customers were usually greeted with a smile and friendly service along with great food, which is why so much of the clientele were repeat customers. Repeat customers came from many states. And large bike groups oftentimes got off I-44 to drop by, say hi and enjoy the food.
“The thing we tell our employees is we are serving friends and family,” Trotter said. “It’s the feeling you want family to have.”
Trotter and Williams said the business always tried to be a positive for the community.
“We did a lot of community service,” Trotter said. “We tried to help the schools and other organizations,”
“We served the jail at Pulaski County for several years, off and on,” Williams said. “And we’ve been a member of the Chamber of Commerce since we opened.”
Over the years a couple of dishes seemed to remain customer favorites.
“People loved the ribs and beef brisket,” Williams said. “But in the last few years fish and wings have also been really big.”
Trotter and Williams said there are no current plans for any new business to come in.
“We’re not sure what we’ll do with the building yet,” Trotter said.
