What to do when you have the most popular rib shack on the East Side, sell out and move to the Caribbean? Why, move back home and reopen your shack, of course.
That was the story in the Friday edition of Edwardsville’s paper, The Intelligencer – good news for those of us who frequented Red’z Rib Shack back in the ’90s, when Randy and Shiona Quick ran it at the intersection of Routes 159 and 162 in Maryville.
Even better, the Quicks plan to return in mid-April with the same menu of chewy, hickory-smoked ribs, chicken, pork steaks, and shredded chicken and pork, not to mention the sourdough bread and kaiser rolls served with every meal. Two new items that seem more Tex-Mex than Caribbean-influenced will grace the menu: barbaritos, tortillas filled with shredded chicken or pork, and crunch baskets, shredded chicken or pork served over corn chips.
The old shack was really two ramshackle houses joined by a walkway. The new location at 1501 Troy Road will be a double drive-thru, taking advantage of its design as a former Rally’s. “We are so extremely excited to be back and I can do what I love, which is make my customers happy with a quality product day in and day out,” Randy was quoted as saying in the article. “We plan to make ourselves known again very fast.” According to ecstatic comments posted by readers of the online article, that should come easy.
– Michael Renner
This article appears in Mar 1-31, 2010.