Stir that sauce, add some heat, and fire that smoker!!  Meet the folks behind the sweet smellin', caramelizin', deeeelicious Sweet Lucy's BBQ. 

A Match Made in Smokehouse Heaven...

Jim and Brooke Higgins started Sweet Lucy’s Smokehouse Jan. 2003.  Jim, a native of Washington, D.C. grew up eating meat and potatoes—boiled, baked, and fried and BBQ in his eyes consisted of packaged hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill on a warm summer eve.  When he moved to Greenville, North Carolina, at the age of 20, he sunk his teeth into his pulled pork BBQ sandwich and was immediately transformed into a BBQ fanatic.  Jim began to dream about bringing authentic BBQ back to Maryland, until a friend suggested they experience life in a Colorado ski town for a season.  Jim agreed and worked as a cook at several exclusive hotels and resorts, and put his BBQ dream on hold for a few years while he refined his culinary skills in the Rocky Mountains.  

Brooke Higgins grew up in the Northeast Section of Philadelphia in a family who loved good food.  Her dad would drive the kids on Saturday afternoons to the Philadelphia Italian Market to have his family experience the flavors of Meditterean olives and cured meats, cheeses from around the world, fresh seafood, and top grade meats from the butchers.  Brooke always loved these trips, and entered a Restaurant and Hotel Management program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  After graduation, Brooke moved to Vail, Colorado and began her culinary career in the kitchen preparing foods at some of the country’s most exclusive resorts.  There she met Jim, and the culinary couple fell in love while cooking together in the kitchen. 

They moved to Hyde Park, NY where Brooke attended the prestigious Culinary Institute of America and graduated with Honors with a degree in Culinary Arts.  The couple moved to Boston, and Brooke worked under the acclaimed Todd English at Olives Restaurant. 

With Brooke and Jim’s hectic schedules, they missed cooking together.  In 1999, they returned to the kitchen together and started Food Matters, a personal chef and catering company.  There they cooked for Boston’s top socialites.  In 2002, Jim’s long-time craving for BBQ began to grow, and Brooke wanted to return to her family in Philadelphia.  They packed their bags and moved back to Brooke’s hometown, with the idea of opening a BBQ restaurant together. 

In October 2002 Brooke, Jim, and their 100 pound Newfoundland dog Lucy embarked on a quest for the Best Southern BBQ.  Feasting for over 30 days, they studied the subtleties of slow-smoked BBQ in Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas, Tennesee, Florida and other states noted for the fine art of BBQ cooking.  When they returned to the north, they spent months experimenting with spices, herbs, and cooking methods taking the best of what they have learned in the South the create their own original, authentic BBQ flavors.

In 2003, Brooke and Jim opened Sweet Lucy’s Smokehouse in the Northeast Section of Philadelphia, close to where Brooke grew up and where they now reside.  They shopped for a smoker and discovered one outfitted with a trailer.  They began the business in the trailer and within a year, the business was so successful, they had to look for expanded space to handle the popular demand.    Construction for the 80-seat restaurant began in October 2004, and opened February 2005.