Enoch Morris is the co-owner of Enoch’s Barbecue & Southern Classics, a family owned restaurant at 307 S. National Ave.
Enoch and Debbie Morris moved to the Springfield area when they found out one of their daughters was pregnant with twins. The Morris family is experienced in the food industry: Enoch Morris was trained in hospitality while his daughters had been a part of the restaurant industry as well. According to Morris, he “figured that [they] would end up opening a restaurant.”
Want more information on “blue plate” specials and promotions? Follow Enoch’s Barbecue on Twitter and Facebook. While you can look at the menu online, The Scoop has more to the restaurant’s story:
This is not your typical college restaurant and bar.
The Morrises are proud of their family atmosphere. While the location’s predecessors, Wing Shack and Moosehaven, were equally bar and restaurant, the Morrises did not want to follow that path. They do not have drink specials, nor do they stay open late (they close at 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday but stay open until 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays). But if you want to get some wholesome Southern specialties, Enoch’s has a variety of offerings.
Owning a family restaurant can be hard at times but rewarding.
“We have our fights and arguments, but we always make up,” Morris says. They are about to cater for a wedding and a sorority on the same day. “We’ve been really busy, and it is a lot better to work with those you love,” he adds.
One of the highlights of his experience co-owning the restaurant was when an Assemblies of God convention came in. Morris says, “One of the ladies liked our restaurant so much that she blessed the restaurant and our family.”
The central Springfield location was not the first Enoch’s Barbecue.
Enoch’s Barbecue first opened in Chesterfield Village on April 2012 and stayed in business until December 2013. In fact, the current National and the Chesterfield Village locations were open at the same time for two months. “It was too much. We are family-owned, so it was hard for us to manage both locations,” Morris says. Luckily, the National location was doing very well, so the Morrises decided to close the other.
Enoch’s Barbecue has a flavorful history. Before the couple opened a restaurant, Enoch and Debbie Morris won the rib competition in the 2000 Sertoma Cook-Off.
That same year, Morris developed his winning rub by combining two distinctive barbecue styles: North Carolina and Tennessee. Then it was just a hobby; Morris was selling it off his website. But when they won first place out of 29 competitors in the rib category, they knew they were on to something. “We even won against a well-established local business. They ended up getting the 26 spot,” Morris adds.
The restaurant has a diverse menu.
The restaurant has “blue plate” specials every day, and those are some of Morris’ favorites. The selections include chicken potpie on Thursdays and catfish on Fridays. “We even have a ‘pig tator’ on Saturdays, which is a baked potato stuffed with cheese, pork, bacon, sour cream and dusted with E’s Dry Rub and Memphis Southern Sauce,” Morris says. “But we don’t have a lot of vegetarian options.”
Overall, one of the advantages of dining a small family business is that they can cater to customers’ needs. Morris says, “If you want something different done with your meal, we’ll do it.”
The business is involved in the community and a supporter of Harmony House.
Harmony House is a local nonprofit that is a refuge for victims of domestic violence. This Christmas, Enoch’s Barbecue plans to hold a donation drive, concentrating on family board games. “If you bring in an unopened board game, we’ll give you a free drink or desert,” says Morris. The restaurant has also done promotions with the local high school football teams and other organizations.
