BBQ Bob has been serving barbecue in Southwest Fresno since November 2020. Photo by Ben Hensley

A local man who grew up with a love for barbecue is fulfilling his dream and filling the bellies of hungry, happy customers in Southwest Fresno.

Bobby Jones, owner of BBQ Bob, opened his restaurant in November 2020, at the height of the pandemic. The exclusively carry-out style restaurant offers brisket, hot links, chicken, ribs and all the fixings you could imagine a good barbecue comes with.

The restaurant will celebrate its third anniversary this fall. Jones said the opportunity to operate a restaurant that serves his favorite childhood food — barbecue — has been all he could hope for.

 

“I’m just elated,” Jones said. “I’m full of joy.”

Jones was born in San Diego but moved to Fresno at an early age, attending local schools and graduating from Roosevelt High School before going on to graduate from Fresno City College and Fresno State.

After a successful career as a professional boxer, the two-time Junior Olympic Champion sought to serve the community he knew best, first operating as a pop-up restaurant at local street corners.

Eventually, his customers convinced Jones to open a storefront, and BBQ Bob was born.

Despite opening in the midst of the pandemic, Jones said the process was significantly easier than the difficulty he would have faced had the restaurant been both sit-down style and indoors, with the take-out style of his restaurant fitting the pandemic’s social distancing restrictions perfectly.

“The City of Fresno was great. The state of California was great,” he said. “I did all I had to do to get all the paperwork in order and then went to work on the restaurant.”

Jones and BBQ Bob have offered catering services for several years, catering for Fresno City College, the City of Fresno and City Hall and Fresno Unified School District. He currently has a contract with the Fresno Grizzlies.

This fall, BBQ Bob will be available to students at the newly completed Fresno City College West Campus, located a five-minute drive from the restaurant.

BBQ Bob is located at 1214 Jones Ave. in Fresno and is open from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and noon-5 p.m. Saturday. Ordering is available online with walk-up customers also welcome.