Butler County native returns home to start BBQ restaurant
To Tyler Skidmore, owner of Back Home BBQ & Brew Co. at 1328 Mars-Evans City Road in Callery, the name of his business is a tribute to the journey to where he and his business are today.
Skidmore, 33, a native of Oakland Township, moved back to the area from stints in Texas and North Carolina after he received what he says was “a call from God” during a visit to Butler County in November 2021.
“I was working with Erie Insurance at the time and enjoyed it, but I felt like something was lacking,” Skidmore said. “I was driving on a back road by the Clearview Mall and I felt something in my soul that I have never felt before, and it was I need to move back here.”
On the ride back to North Carolina, Skidmore spoke to his wife, Megan, about the experience. She said she had been praying about what the couple should do next with their lives.
Skidmore said Megan agreed to move back to Butler County where she also is from, to start Back Home BBQ, and a few months later, they sold their North Carolina home.
“I used to always have depression about the past, unrest about today and anxiety about the future,” Skidmore said. “Now I find myself grateful for the past, thankful for today and encouraged about what's to come.”
Although the path to get the business up and running was riddled with challenges, Skidmore feels he has successfully created the atmosphere and food he set out to do.
“We want everyone that walks through the door to feel like family, see Southern hospitality and taste authentic backyard barbecue,” Skidmore said. “We tried to model this after a Texas barbecue place.”
Skidmore said the brisket cheesesteak is one of the more popular items on the menu. The brisket is sauteed it with onions, homemade queso and barbecue sauce.
“Sometimes for the lunch crowd we ask customers if they are going back to work or can you take a nap after,” he said with a laugh.
He said a popular lighter option would be their street barbecue tacos.
The business also provides catering for small and large parties, live music on weekends and events such as music bingo and trivia nights during the week.
Back Home BBQ also is known for its house-brewed beer selections, such as The Grumpy Old Man and To The Moon.
The restaurant currently has nine beers on tap, all made by Skidmore’s father and business partner, Chris.
The business officially opened for food last June 8, but could not offer beer until August, after approval of its brewery license.
“It’s sort of like we had a baby because we waited nine months for it,” Skidmore joked of the brewery license. “It allows us to sell any beer manufactured in Pennsylvania.”
Skidmore said he faced another challenge two weeks before he planned to open when the front of the house manager he had hired told him she wasn’t able to fulfill the time requirements needed for the job.
“I texted the owner of the Field House, and he said you got to persevere,” Skidmore said. “Sometimes there are no other options. Things will get tough, and you are defined by how you come through things like that. You have to have a whatever-it-takes attitude.”
Skidmore is “encouraged” about where the business is headed, as it has grown faster than he anticipated, with three full-time and about 17 part-time employees.
“For example, the business we do on Thursdays now is more than what we would do on a Friday or Saturday six months ago,” Skidmore said.
Beer-wise, Skidmore said his dad told recently told him he is where he thought he would be with beer production three years in, as he now has to brew some of the more popular beers every other week.
Skidmore said he would like to open a second location in northern Butler County, but at this time he is not sure when or where that would happen.
“We are outgrowing this space quickly,” Skidmore said. “We need more space for brewery equipment and more kitchen equipment. Under our brewery license, we can have three locations, a brewery and two taprooms.”
Skidmore attended the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University and graduated with a degree in rehabilitation counseling. After that he worked at State Farm Insurance. He followed that with a stint as a fourth-grade teacher in Houston before joining Erie Insurance while living in North Carolina.
“I don’t regret anything,” he said. “It has all brought me here. This here is like teaching. You got to motivate people to want to come to work and to care about the work they are doing.”
Skidmore said he is grateful for everything he has accomplished so far in his life and career, and for those that have helped him along the way.
“That experience has equipped me for what I need to know now,” he said. “This is not Tyler Skidmore, this is God’s work, through Tyler Skidmore.”
On Saturday, June 8 the restaurant will throw a party to celebrate its one-year anniversary.
From 3 to 9 p.m. it will have live music, firetrucks, games, food and specialty drinks to celebrate the occasion.
The restaurant will also be offering a basket raffle to support the local fire departments.
This article first appeared in the May edition of Butler County Business Matters.
