Al Laudencia – Hal n Al’s Q & Catering
We were honored to speak with Al Laudencia of Hal n Al’s Q & Catering, an up and coming Adel-based barbeque business that is taking the Des Moines metro area by storm.
Every interview for DiscoverAdel.com is unique and showcases the wonderful talent that Adel, Iowa has to offer.
Now and again, we stumble upon a business owner who defines his or her company by a different set of rules and reaches greatness, not because it was an idealized goal, but because their priorities put quality ahead of quantity.
This month we were honored to speak with Al Laudencia of Hal n Al’s Q & Catering, an up and coming Adel-based barbeque business that is taking the Des Moines metro area by storm.
Al has worked in kitchens since he was 13 where he started as a busboy. As a kid from Ames, Al attended Iowa State University majoring in Marketing with a minor in Biology. He graduated in Saint Louis with a degree in Applied Behavioral Science and attended graduate school for Business Administration, supported by AT&T for whom he was a salesman. Regardless of his profession, Al has always had a restaurant position as well.
In 1998 a headhunter sought him out to manage a national chain’s East St. Louis location and it was this eye opening experience that lead to his love for barbeque.
The cultural differences between Al and his crew were vast, but as is true across the world, food became the great equalizer. One day the grill cook asked if Al had ever had a “snoot sandwich” and promised to “hook him up.” The next day, Al was handed a Styrofoam container that popped open to show a golden brown, crispy piece of pork snout on top of a slice of cheap white bread with a dollop of potatoes salad and beans. His mouth watered, and Al’s love affair with barbeque was sealed. He purchased a BBQ Weber grill, created a makeshift smoker, and lived by the number one rule of “low and slow, baby.”
The allure and necessity of the “low and slow” rule ran true with Al when he learned the cooking method developed out of necessity during the time of slavery. Brisket, ribs, and other inferior cuts of meat were discarded by the masters and given to slaves. These scrap cuts were tough and flavorless but the slaves learned that if they cooked it long enough at a very low temperature, due to the lack of refrigeration and the perpetual cooking kept the food longer, the meat would become tender. Some began adding sauces to the top to enhance the flavor, others rubbed the meat with a mixture of dry spices to infuse flavor. Today these different techniques make up the regions of Kansas City, St Louis, Texas, and Carolina style barbeque. Hal n Al’s Q is a combination of Kansas City and St Louis. To keep the meat in top form, he pulls and slices the meat tableside so that it stays juicy.
In 2008 Al moved back to Des Moines and met his wife, Betsy Chase of Adel in 2009. The savory dishes as a result of Al’s hobby were shared at family functions and loved by his in-laws. Al was incredibly excited to learn his wife was planning to buy him a small smoker for an upcoming holiday to do away with the makeshift grill, available at many retail outlets for about $l00. Around that same time, a fellow chef was planning to leave Iowa and wanted to make sure that his smoker was placed in good hands. This commercial sized smoker was on a trailer and came with a much higher price tag.
Al and Betsy realized they had about half the money for the big rig, but weren’t sure where to find the rest. In a classic American family scene, a comment around the holidays was made about the smoker and lack of funds. Across the room Betsy’s father Hal of DeSoto, Iowa overheard and said, “Why don’t we go half and half?” Hal n Al’s Barbeque was born and a whirlwind began. Betsy and Al had a baby in May, purchased their home in Adel in June, and the smoker was purchased in July.
Hal n Al’s Q & Catering’s first event was the Adel Sweet Corn festival, giving people a taste of their original dry-rubbed pulled pork. Their daughters, Taylor and Lily, experienced taking money and making change, as well as customer service. After that, the goal was one catering per month, ranging anywhere from individual requests for family dinners to larger requests to serve 100. During this time Al continued to wait tables at Biaggi’s Italian restaurant in Des Moines full time, which any professional restaurateur can tell you is grueling work on its own, and running the family business on the side.
As the catering requests have grown, Al’s time at the restaurant has decreased, allowing him more time for his own business. Al’s method of marketing is a combination of samples and social connections.
Traditionally, or perhaps stereotypically, BBQ is viewed as a man’s world.
For Al, he knows that 80% of the buying power is with women, and he jokes they have access to the other 20% too; hence the pink pig’s tail on his logo, which also serves as a heartfelt homage to his mother who passed away due to breast cancer complications.
By keeping his target audience in mind, along with the values of honesty, generosity, and genuine human interest, Al is able to create an environment where customers need not worry about lifting a finger- he’ll do the dishes, and if you need entertainment, Al is a DJ, piano player, and singer for his other business, Two Men and Tune, with partner Rick Ludwig who have performed at the Iowa State Fair.
At the initial catering appointment, Al brings along samples to try because he believes strongly that once he gets someone’s mouth watering, and they then find out he charges less than the other guys, the sale is closed.
What was once a goal of 12 caterings a year is now a reality of seven per week. These still include small family dinners and now include professional meetings, weddings, and graduations up to 1,000.
As word spreads, Al is able to keep up, but will soon need to expand further, so the family has begun talks of a restaurant in the future.
Hal n Al’s Q & Catering has a prestigious clientele of bankers, various industry vice presidents, city and state politicians and has been honored to be selected as the Iowa Wild hockey team’s official caterer for the 2014-2015 season, preparing breakfast, dinner, and snacks for the team and administration members every home game. But it is important to note that they hope to expand their business, especially graduations, in Adel.
“I live in Adel- just give me an opportunity- the first samples on us. I’d like to do more with Adel because I’ve found home. I like to know my neighbors. I love that the people are truly interested in their community without excluding what’s in their backyard (which is Des Moines.) We’ve found a town that can help raise our kids, not just educate them. If ‘it takes a village to raise a family,’ then Adel is that town. I’m entrusting my kids to the city of Adel and knowing I can trust that they will get the best. We’re ranked 7 in the state- that says a lot about our community, our families, and how and what we feel about our kids. Its neat to see how supportive this town is in every way.”
Its important to keep in mind that Hal n Al’s is a catering business- happy to prepare foods of all types not just barbeque. With 35 years of restaurant experience, connections throughout the industry, and Filipino heritage, Al is able to create traditional American, French, Greek, Asian, and Italian cuisine for breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, and snacks.
Al is an incredibly inspirational conversationalist that other business owners can learn from, which illustrates why his clients love his businesses. “I’ve taken my passion and God has said, ‘this is where you’re gonna go.’ I’m just going along for the ride. And I’m not going to get in the way of myself. You’re the one who tells you, you don’t have time for it. There are a million places for you to get food, to get catering, but the one way to make myself stick out, its in the service and that feeling people get from the experience. “
“It doesn’t take that much more to be number one. Water boils at 212 degrees. It does absolutely nothing at 211. Races are won by nanoseconds. But the guy who wins, wins exponentially by giving that little extra nanosecond more. It’s about giving more when you feel like giving up; thinking not about yourself, but about that customer and how you can make them feel. Now, you better follow up with some good food and good service, but once you got that, the train is rolling so watch out.”
Note: In August, 2019 Al opened Big Al’s BBQ in Adel.
Big Al’s BBQ
715 Main St Adel IA 50003
Phone: (515) 991-6887
Website: www.bigalsbbq.net
Catering: bigalsbbq.net/catering
