With Grover Washington Jr.’s smooth-jazz hit “Just the Two of Us” serenading the office of Calistoga’s barbecue hot spot, grilling guru Charles “Buster” Davis sat cool as a cucumber as he reflected on a quarter century in business.
The atmosphere seemed to rub off, as shown by his dog Noble, sprawled across the love seat at Buster’s Original Southern BBQ.
In many respects, the business situated at the main intersection at Foothill Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue has become a labor of love for Davis.
For one, Davis loves what he does. He swoons at discussing barbecuing techniques with meticulous detail, much like Virginia Madsen’s famous description about the aging of wine in the cult classic film “Sideways.”
Then there’s the true love associated with the restaurant. Davis met his partner at home and work at the barbecue joint when she answered the call for a bookkeeper decades ago.
“I was looking for a part-time job and never left,” quipped Barbara Jolly, who like Davis is 76.
Jolly works the front counter on occasion, but she passes on the cooking. Davis has that household task covered.
“He does a good job (with that), so I don’t have to,” she said, adding she’s also pondering full retirement.
Davis joined the restaurant industry with recipes perfected by his Shreveport, Louisiana mother and sister, when they ran a Southern California bakery he built. At the time, he sold fruit and vegetables in the ag-rich Santa Maria region before taking the reins of the business from his brother.
The restaurateur turned the business into a barbecue place and opened two other locations in the Ventura area before moving north to the upper Napa Valley. In the beginning, he cooked for the neighborhood from a simple barbecue pit in the parking lot. Homemade pies from the operation’s bakery days remain on the menu.
What has also stayed the same over the last few decades is the family barbecue recipe that blends a western flair with the seasoned basting sauce of the Deep South. The sauce is bottled and sold by the pint for $12.30.
The operation has evolved into a family affair in front of and behind the counter. Some of its 16 workers serving side dishes starting at $4.50 and dinners at $20.15 over two shifts represent multiple generations. Customers have also spanned generations, with parents bringing their kids who, in turn, bring theirs when they grow up.
While his go-to main course to cook at home on his trusty Weber barbecue is salmon, the favorite item for Davis to make for carnivore customers is tri-tip. It anchors a simple menu he has felt no reason to change through the years.
“It’s an easy piece of meat to work with,” he said.
Granted, running a restaurant is hard work, and the pandemic accentuated challenges for many. Still, those times proved to be a boon for Buster’s, resulting in a 50% spike in sales in most months and his best year for revenue in 2021 at $500,000. It helped that the place was already established as a takeout haven, complete with a walk-up window and drive-thru for diners on the go. Takeout was the ideal business to run, as people learned to distance themselves from others to avoid COVID-19.
With a few picnic tables set up, the property has seen few changes through the years. The main service building dates back to the 1940s. The office in back was added about a decade ago. A stage was erected for musical acts on Sundays during the summer months, an addition the business temporarily wrangled with the city over in 2018.
One thing’s for certain — location, location, location has helped the business immensely. Davis and Jolly believe they’re blessed with being situated at a critical intersection in town where a stop sign prompts many motorists to rethink their dinner plans before proceeding. Jolly said she’s witnessed many drive by with their windows down to catch the aroma.
The vibe adds to the heightened senses.
“This is the blood in my veins and the oxygen in my lungs,” Davis said of the business.
The community recognizes Buster’s as a fixture in downtown Calistoga.
“Buster’s BBQ has been part of Calistoga’s heartbeat for years,” Calistoga Chamber of Commerce CEO Eric Reichert said. “The smoke billowing from the barbecue pit, the live music on the patio out back in the summer and Buster’s big personality have turned a roadside barbecue joint into a vibrant place where locals and visitors just naturally wind up.”
The restaurant has thrived from added venues that deliver more tourists to the town. These included the building of the Brannan Center to celebrate the performing arts and an expanding repertoire of events to be staged at the Calistoga Fairgrounds, Davis mentioned. Nights out on the town for such events can easily turn into customers seeking a tasty meal.
But despite the prospect of adding an influx of customers from outside the area, the locals represent its bread-and-butter mainstay. Word of its success catches on with the crowd of construction workers involved in projects around town.
Jack Hamilton, a regular, brought a buddy from the job site who’s never been to Buster’s for lunch.
“I usually come with my family, but I told him he had to come,” he said, turning his attention to his buddy’s order. “He’ll have the hot sauce.”
Hamilton ordered his usual tri-tip sandwich.
“The way they put butter on the bread is the best part,” he said.
Buster’s Original Southern BBQ is located at 1207 Foothill Blvd. in Calistoga. For more information, visit busterssouthernbbq.com.
