5B’s BBQ moves to House of China building

Drew and Jessica Brown

Jessica and Drew Brown have spent 15 years in their 1,500 square-foot restaurant, 5B’s BBQ. But the time has come to move on — and they have seized the opportunity to do just that. But not too far.

This year the Browns are preparing to move 5B’s down the road to the building that, until recently, housed the House of China. The pair bought the place on Jan. 5, just weeks after House of China owner Tony Chang hung up his apron and retired. The Browns hope to be open by graduation weekend or June at the latest.

“We’ve had a lot of good memories here, but it’s time to get more space,” said co-owner Jessica Brown.

“Tony and Tina were so good to us, too,” she said. Chang owned and operated House of China for 31 years along with his wife, Tina, and their daughters.

“They wanted a young couple and somebody to keep it as a restaurant,” said co-owner Drew Brown. The couple is happy to still keep their business on Tomichi.

Jessica rolled out the plans and diagrams for the newly-bought establishment’s 4,000 square feet. The couple plans to remodel everything — down to the mop closet. The new 5B’s will have an event room, a larger kitchen and even a designated pie-baking spot. The Browns are most excited about the expansive dining area. Wintertime in Gunnison limits the seating at the current 5B’s to a mere six tables. In the new building, the Browns will have room to double the seating inside and include a bar.

“People come here to eat,” Drew said. “Now, we’re going to be able to set an environment for people to have a drink.”

“I’m a mom, and it’s hard for me to want to go have a happy hour cocktail and then bring my kid,” Jessica added.

The Browns will install TVs for sporting events and, over time, they want to create a unique space for Gunnison.

“Hopefully in two years we’ll be talking about a rooftop deck,” Jessica said. 

The couple had originally included rooftop dining in their plans, which would add an additional 2,000 square feet of seating, but the plan exceeded their current budget. 

“I’m so bummed, because I was going to have a tiki bar up there,” she said.

The day-to-day grind begins with Drew in the kitchen at 5:30 a.m.  

“There’s always something to do in the morning, and then I go back to the house at seven and wake my wife up who is sleeping still,” he said.

By 8 a.m. the two get the restaurant “ready to roll” by opening time at 11. At 9 p.m. Drew stacks the following day’s meat in the smoker.

Since Drew was 19 years old, he has been cooking for 5B’s. His parents, Judy and Wayne Brown, launched 5B’s as a catering business in 2003 and worked out of a trailer for a couple of years. The couple moved to a gas station afterward, and then settled into their current place next to Gunnison Pizza Company. The name “5B’s” stands for five Browns: Judy, Wayne, Karman, Eric and Drew Brown. Drew said people always try to guess what the B’s stand for, usually getting it wrong.

Drew and Jessica married in 2016. They bought the restaurant from Drew's parents. Wayne retired three years ago. Judy retired shortly after that, but she still makes desserts. Last Friday, the choices were homemade blueberry pie or Texas sheet cake.

5B’s gained some popularity during the COVID lockdown. The Browns leaned heavily on social media to get word out about specials and pop-up breakfasts. Because of the uncertainties caused by the pandemic, they took on a huge workload in 2021, especially during wedding season.

“I didn’t say ‘no’ to anybody last summer, and there were some days where we had two to three onsight events with this place running,” Jessica said.

Tim Wilson, owner of Tim’s Autoglass of Montrose, rewards himself with a large Stuckey Shaker from 5B’s every time he travels to Gunnison. 

“If I get all my work done,” he said. The Stuckey Shaker is meat, cole slaw, jalepeños and onions stuffed inside of a Mason jar. Wilson said it’s easy to eat while driving back to Montrose because there is less risk of getting it on your clothes.

Drew and Jessica Brown have two little girls ages 5 and 2. After the move, they will be closed on Sundays to prioritize family time. The Browns want to go camping, enjoy the family pontoon boat and watch Broncos games during football season with their Broncos fire truck. Since they never took a weekend off last summer, the Browns are making up for it this winter.

“Weekends in the wintertime is key time to spend with my babies,” Jessica said. 

The family goes skiing often on the weekends. The 5-year-old Brown “crushes it” at skiing, and the 2-year-old is “in it for the chairlift M&Ms.” 

The Browns plan to add another “B” soon when they adopt a dog. 

(Anna Coburn can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or anna@gunnisontimes.com.)