New Tulsa BBQ Spot's Name Raises Eyebrows

A fire is to blame for the demise of Tulsa's Knotty Pine restaurant. Since it's been gone, many people have wondered about the barbecue joint's fate.

Some of the flavor of that Westside favorite is back - in a different location. But the name of the place may give you second thoughts about stopping by.

There's a new barbeque place on South Mingo, but its name has raised more than a few questions.

"The name - people stop in the middle of the road and take pictures of the sign, kind of wonder what's really going on in there," said owner Brian Rostron. "It's not what people think."

It's based on his construction company Action Erection Services. They build stuff. And they named their new restaurant Action Erection Beer & BBQ.

Brian and B.G. Rostron opened the place back in December. Although they say they weren't trying to, customers began to notice something familiar.

"They'd come in and they'd say 'this tastes like the old Knotty Pine,'" said B.G. Rostron.

Fact is, they've hire some of the old Knotty Pine's kitchen staff. The Knotty pine was an iconic west Tulsa BBQ place. There was a fire in May of 2010. It closed and was bulldozed. It hasn't reopened.

Folks can hope.

Some ladies came in, and I heard one say, "It smells like the Knotty Pine," so I followed them back to their table. I met Erica Carnes and her grandmother Mary Wofford.

"My brother called me, and he told me he had came out here - and it was just like the old Knotty Pine," said Mary Wofford.

Erica says she's looking forward to the smoked sausage and wants to find out if the green beans taste the same.

Everybody's got a favorite 4-year-old Jayden like the ham and the sweet sauce.

And don't get too put off by the name. Guy'd be crazy to name his restaurant something like that -crazy like a fox.