Smokin’ Snyders

Steve and Janna Snyder have three sons.

Their house tended to become the hangout for the boys and their friends.

And they were hungry.

The Snyders got used to feeding groups of young men, and in the process, Steve honed his process for smoking meats. Next weekend, they will expand their clientele as they open Snyd’s Place at the corner of Walnut and Commerce streets in Portland.

“Our place was where they always came,” said Janna, rattling off the names of her sons’ friends. “And they were always hungry.

“Kids are good critics. They’re very honest.”

“They lived at our house on the weekend …” added Steve. “And, you know, midnight, 1 o’clock, 2 o’clock in the morning, they were hungry.”

Now, they’re hoping to satisfy a hungry community.

Snyd’s Place will open for the first time at 11 a.m. March 28. (The restaurant, the former site of Joe’s Eatery and Jay Smokin’ BBQ, among others, offers drive-thru and carryout only.)

The menu features sandwiches — pulled pork, brisket and boneless rib — that come with sauteed onions, cheddar cheese, dill pickle and a mayo-based sauce as well as brisket bites (burnt ends) and pulled pork and brisket nachos. Sides are macaroni and cheese, coleslaw and baked beans. Dessert will also be available.

Steve has been smoking meat one way or another since shortly after graduating from Jay County High School in 1983. He roasted hogs for local industry picnics and not-for-profit fundraisers, and eventually he and Janna, a 1984 JCHS grad, bought a concession trailer. It didn’t take them long to figure out providing food at festivals and other such events wasn’t for them.

But while they sold the trailer, Steve never stopped smoking meat. He’s bought one smoker and designed and built half a dozen others. Currently, he can cook for 300-plus in a weekend. He uses hickory wood — no charcoal or gas — and doesn’t believe in using timers that will wake him up in the middle of the night when the food is ready.

“Every piece of meat is different,” said Steve, adding that he’s learned a lot from his friend Amos Bonvillian, who he called “the cornerstone.” “You’ve got to have love in it. Every piece.”

The decision to make food more than just a hobby again came after their youngest son Scott went off to college. They were empty nesters when they drove past the corner of Commerce and Walnut streets and Janna noticed the building at the southwest corner was still available. It didn’t take long for Steve to pick up the phone.

They bought the building in December and have since cleaned, painted and added new equipment.

As they get ready for next weekend, Steve and Janna are the only official employees of Snyd’s Place. Their sons — Matt, Clark and Scott — will be helping out on opening day.

But after that, they’re not sure when they will be open again. It’ll be hit and miss as Steve, production manager at Fullenkamp Machine, and Janna, a registered nurse in the oncology unit at Ball Memorial Hospital, still work full time.

“Day by day, you’ll have to look at Facebook to see when we’re open next,” said Steve. “For now, we’re going to be there Saturday (March 28), and after that, we don’t know.”

“We’re hoping that people that come and try us will like us enough that they will … watch for when we’re open and come back,” added Janna.

The long-term goal is that Snyd’s Place will become their full-time retirement project. They’re not big on traveling, and they feel drawn to invest in the community.

“We see us here,” said Janna. “This is our community. So, why not get involved.”

“We’re staying,” added Steve. “Portland is us.”

Years of smoking meat has taught Steve a lot of lessons.

He’s read a lot about the science of smoking.

He’s figured out how to handle variables like wind and humidity.

He’s experimented with different rubs in order to come up with his own.

But perhaps the most important lesson — the one that led the Snyders to opening a restaurant next weekend — wasn’t about the process of smoking at all.

“We’ve learned this is what we want to do,” Steve said. “We’ve been in and out of it, and it keeps coming back to this.”