Business Spotlight: Still Fired Up

The desire to turn a hobby into a new career path motivated Nick Copeland to open barbecue and grilling retailer Pits N Grills LLC in 2015. Now, as he nears a decade of operations in November, Copeland says the fire to aid those new to barbecuing or self-described grill masters is still burning.

The business, co-owned by Copeland and his wife, Ammie, has remained at its 1920 E. Sunshine St. location since opening. The 2,000-square-foot floor space is filled with grills, smokers and dozens of rubs, sauces and accessories. The rubs alone fill a large portion of one of the walls in the store, with products from companies such as Boars Night Out, Killer Hogs Barbecue and Kosmos Q. Local company products also are stocked at Pits N Grills, including barbecue sauce from Gettin’ Basted, which has eateries in Branson and Nixa, and hot sauces from Springfield Trading Co.

“We have most of the local stuff that there’s demand for,” Copeland says. “There’s just so many out there that you can’t have all of them.”

Before opening the store, Copeland says he grilled a lot on Sundays and struggled to find supplies to aid his cooking. So, he decided to launch a business that would appeal to him and – he hoped – many others.

“It’s for people just getting into it for the first time, or somebody that just has a gas grill that is not really that interested in barbecue but wants to buy from a local place,” he says. “It goes all the way up to competition teams looking for supplies for the weekend – and everyone in between.”

About community
Pits N Grills was a significant professional pivot for Copeland, who had no retail experience when he exited Edmonds Dental Prosthetics Inc., a dental laboratory where he worked for 13 years.

“I had always wanted to own my own business, and barbecue was a hobby of mine probably for about four or five years,” he says. “I was a backyard cook, so I wasn’t competing or anything at the time, but yeah, it didn’t take long after we started to start competing and getting in the mix.”

Copeland began participating in cooking competitions soon after opening, first with the Kansas City Barbecue Society, then the Steak Cookoff Association. He says he participated in 11 steak contests last year in addition to six barbecue competitions.

“I don’t frequently win but top five is pretty common,” he says, noting there’s competition trophies all around the front of the store and a handful of plaques on the walls.

Competition for Copeland is much more about promoting Pits N Grills than winning prize money or hardware, he says.

“It’s a community, and we go hang out all the time,” he says. “A friend of mine describes it as a family reunion.”

Copeland has attracted some of that grilling community to his store, which has an indoor range hood for classes. The monthly instructional sessions have been part of the business since its start, he says. Class sizes are typically no more than 18 and range $45-$65. Recent classes have involved cooking brisket and seafood, while the next one scheduled – focused on ham and lamb – is April 10.

“Even teams that cook contests will come in and look for every little tip they can find. But most of our classes are geared towards the backyard guy,” he says. “We’re not teaching any competition secrets in those classes.”

While the classes could be viewed as another revenue stream for the business, Copeland says the gatherings are much more about community to him.

“We’re not making money really on the classes, by the time we give away the beer and the food,” he says. “We’ve got customers that bought stuff from us who want to know how to use it, and it’s just awesome to be able to expose them to this quality of barbecue.”

Jeff Dennis is among those who’s taken a few classes and is a longtime customer. The owner of Dennis Oil Co. became a regular at the store shortly after Pits N Grills opened, he says, adding for a couple years he came in almost every other day.

“The funny part is, I’d go up to his store and I knew about everybody that came in, so I’d help him sell some stuff,” Dennis says.

While he hasn’t purchased any grills or smokers from Copeland, Dennis estimates he’s spent “hundreds of dollars” on rubs, sauces and other equipment.

“It’s the perfect guy store. He’s got everything – things that a backyard cooker wants, and a competition guy wants,” he says. “I’ve recommended Nick’s store to everybody that needs any kind of outdoor cooking equipment.”

Market challenge
The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association reported 80% of U.S. homeowners owned a grill or smoker in 2023. That’s up from 64% in 2019. According to the association’s survey, 27% of new grill owners responded cooking more at home during the COVID-19 pandemic was the reason for their purchase.

The pandemic was a boost to the barbecue industry, Copeland says, but adds it wasn’t a longstanding trend. He says sales at his store have been “pretty flat” since the pandemic subsided, declining to disclose annual revenue. However, the pandemic did force a transition to online sales, as the business launched its first website in 2021. He estimates online transactions account for about 40% of yearly sales.

Although his shop sells numerous grills and smokers, he says Big Green Egg is the biggest seller, with prices ranging $490-$2,700. The challenge in the market is for local stores to remain competitive in pricing for grills, he says.

“The internet sets the prices. Everybody’s in here on their phones,” he says, noting people enter the shop to compare prices for online retailers such as Amazon, which also offers free shipping for Prime members. “That’s why we try to set ourselves apart with the classes and building the community. We’ve had so much support from the local folks. They all want to support local, and they want to support small business. That’s the whole reason we’re here.”