MOUNT VERNON – For Road Hog Willy's owner William Wheeler, the dream of owning a restaurant was about more than making a living.
It was about the happiness he sees in his customers when they spy a heaping tray of mouth-watering barbecue headed to their table. The restaurant is located at 504 Harcourt Road.
When Wheeler set out to turn his dreams into real life, the finished product he was striving for required a great deal of old-fashioned sweat equity — and perhaps just a little bit of good timing.
"In 2018, after looking at several places around Mount Vernon, I found the perfect opportunity to get started," Wheeler recalled of his business beginnings. "To make this dream a reality, I sold my food trailer and borrowed a small amount from my family to build Road Hog Willy's."
Wheeler had the real estate, but he was still far from shelling out small mountains of fall-of-the-bone ribs and scratch-made sides. He spent many hours scrubbing equipment, painting and re-painting, and designing woodwork to build the restaurant of his dreams without anguishing his wallet too badly.
Finally, in March of 2019, Road Hog Willy's was open for business. Wheeler describes his establishment as a fun, casual, family barbecue restaurant with indoor seating and picnic tables outside in the summer months.
"I remember that first week," Wheeler said fondly. "I was delayed in opening when I wanted to, then I got the green light to open. I had no food in the restaurant. So I ran to Mansfield to Sam's Club and GFS. Everything was on credit. I stayed up all night cooking for the grand opening."
Wheeler cooked like mad, hoping beyond all hopes that if he made enough food, the crowds would come.
"I had been praying that customers would come," Wheeler said. "Because if not, I'd be broke and shut down in the first week of operation. Well, let me tell you... I had cars and people piling up out in the parking lot. I was getting nervous and anxious. We opened that door and had a line out the door for several hours."
The new barbecue joint even had to briefly close three days into the operation after running out of food.
"Road Hog Willy's was a hit," Wheeler said. "The doors stayed open. I even had to hire more employees."
With slinging arguably the best barbecue in Mount Vernon a smash-hit in the first year, Wheeler was looking forward to what 2020 had to offer him.
However, as 2020 progressed, it isn't difficult to guess why Wheeler's mood toward the year soured. The owner laid off employees and relied on takeout revenue and generous tips from his patient and understanding clientele to get him through.
"To keep my costs down as much as I could, I was working more," Wheeler said. "I was putting in 12- to 14-hour days. Many customers always were asking how we were hanging in there."
Wheeler could only respond with, "The lights are still on;" a statement that might have seemed like a jovial quip to a customer, but was a bone-chilling truth for the restaurant owner.
"I was barely paying for my employees, the utilities and rent," he said. "My income pays my rent and utilities where I live. Of course this was a very stressful time. I was unable to get the first round of the Government PPP, but luckily in December of 2020 I had gotten a state grant to help me through the ever-slow months of the holiday season."
Wheeler now frets as the grant has run out and cash on hand is running low. Despite the uncertainty and stress of slow winter months, bills and taxes, he remains hopeful of what is in store for Road Hog Willy's.
"Just before COVID hit, I was working on finding an investor to grow Road Hog Willy's," Wheeler said. "I have the ability to have an open bar and more seating to make RHW's a fun place to hang out. So for this past year it has been driving me crazy looking at what RHW's could become."
Mount Vernon-area barbecue lovers have plenty to look forward to in the Road Hog Willy's menu, including some unique tokens such as the BIG Willy, a smoked sausage loaded with pulled pork, BBQ sauce and creamy coleslaw. The restaurant offers dine-in, carryout, catering and family-size meal deals to feed the masses. All of the sides are made from scratch, with something to offer for all palates: baked mac and cheese, cheesy potatoes and corn pudding.
Diners can choose to pair their meats with any of Wheeler's four signature BBQ sauces: Sweet Southern Peach, Sweet and Sassy Northern Blackberry, Milk Chipotle and the Original Bold and Tangy Smokehouse — or two signature in-house sauces: XXX Hot BBQ and Willy's Carolina Gold.
Wheeler hopes his community helps him pull through the lingering aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he looks forward to packed Friday and Saturday nights with sold-out ribs soon.
"I'm doing what I can to hang in there, but we need more customers coming in our doors," he said. "I'll get through it. I've made it this far."
