“Simply put, we’re a family that loves to cook. There’s nothing better than seeing the satisfaction of our customers and that makes it all worthwhile.”
That’s part of the story of the Bragg BBQ business in East Moline, as told on the restaurant website and its bottles of sweet zing BBQ sauce.
“This is our heart’s passion. … When you do something you love, it’s great,” said Nishia Bragg, one of the owners of the new restaurant in downtown East Moline.
The husband-wife team of Archie and Nishia Bragg opened their family-run restaurant in April. In the past few months, business has been good as foodies all across the Quad Cities have been crowding into the restaurant to get their favorite dishes of brisket, pulled pork, turkey and many other items.
“It’s been better than anticipated. … People keep coming through the door for good food,” said Mr. Bragg.
The couple’s ventures into food service actually began about four years ago – during the pandemic – when they invested in a food trailer and appeared at different locations around the region. As it turned out, during those tough times, their great food and customer service quickly attracted a lot of fans. They were growing so fast, they needed more space to serve their food and give customers a place to sit while eating.
Mr. Bragg said those years of “steady growth” lead him to the conclusion the business needed to take the next step and move into a brick-and-mortar location.
After a lot of searching, the Braggs came upon a vacant storefront in downtown East Moline, next door to the former Olde Towne Bakery & Express shop, and next to Veterans Memorial Corner at the intersection of Ninth Street and 15th Avenue. (In fact, the side of the Bragg BBQ building is decorated with a large, colorful mural that honors people who served in the military.)
As it turns out, that storefront has a long history of serving great food. It’s the former home of Damion’s Rib Haven. The restaurant was open until 2022 when its owner, Alexia DeWalsche, and her fiance, Elias Rocha, were killed in a car crash.
Nishia Bragg said she’s happy that the great food legacy lives on in the building.
Some of the popular items on the menu at Bragg BBQ include:
- Chopped Beef Bragg Bowl: The bowls are served with smoked mac cheese, baked beans, collard greens and candied yams.
- Wing Fling Platter: with carrots, celery and three dipping sauces.
- Brisket.
- Pulled pork.
- Turkey leg.
- Turkey tips.
- Sides: smoked mac cheese, candied yams, baked beans, collard greens and cole slaw.
- Desserts include peach cobbler and apple cobbler.
- Merchandise: Bragg BBQ has 16-ounce bottles of its original sweet zing BBQ sauce for sale.
The East Moline restaurant has five employees helping serve those tasty dishes. Ms. Bragg said their team of workers is one of the reasons they have found success. “(The) lack of employees has been the downfall of many small businesses…. We have a great team,” she added.
Another reason Bragg BBQ is successful is because the Braggs continue to educate themselves and make changes when needed. An example of that came recently when they attended the Minority Business Summit in Davenport.
Mr. Bragg said he found the event valuable and will be using some of the lessons at the restaurant. For instance, he wants to increase Bragg BBQ’s online presence to help bring in more business.
Currently, Bragg BBQ is open 4-8 p.m. Fridays; 3-7 p.m. Saturdays; and 2-6 p.m. Sundays. In addition to the new East Moline storefront, the Braggs continue to operate the mobile food trailer. In a recent Facebook post, Ms. Bragg said the trailer will be open and serving food on Saturdays in the Northwest Bank & Trust Company tower parking lot in Davenport.
The Braggs hope to eventually expand their new sitdown restaurant’s hours. They get numerous comments from foodies who want to get a meal during lunch hours at the restaurant.
Mr. Bragg said that might happen, but it will probably be a couple more years before they expand hours to lunch time. That’s because Mr. Bragg, who also works at the U.S. Post Office in East Moline, will retire from that job in about two and a half years. When that happens, he will have more time to expand operating hours at Bragg BBQ.
In the meantime, the Braggs will continue to serve pulled pork, brisket and the many other items that have foodies flocking to East Moline.
