At Papa B's Pizza & Barbecue, we are dedicated to providing a delightful, down-home, honest dining experience with our handcrafted pizzas, slow-smoked barbecue, and creamy hand-dipped ice creams. Visit us today and treat your taste buds to something truly special. It's a summertime cookout every day at Papa B's!

For over 20 years, Papa B and Mrs. Tina have lived all up and down the Mississippi River Valley.  Stays include the Boot-heel area of Missouri, the St. Louis region, North-Central Illinois,  Milwaukee, Memphis, and most recently, Northeast Wisconsin.  

It was the Cape Girardeau, Missouri area that first stung Papa B with the Barbecue Bug.  The boot-heel region has a unique blend of St. Louis and Memphis styles.   Pork Spare Ribs and Pulled Pork rule the roost with lots of chicken and a little beef brisket mixed in.  Flavors are smokey, savory, and with touch of sweet and sour.  Southeast Missouri Barbecue is an excellent balance of Memphis dry and St. Louis saucy.

After leaving Southeast Missouri behind, Mr and Mrs B wound up just on the other side of the river from St. Louis - Home of the St. Louis style spare rib.  In this region, the ribs tend to be grilled rather than slow smoked and then are heavily sauced providing a distinct regional flair.  Whatcha gunna do with all that sauce?  Soak it up with some white bread of course.  Wonder Bread is standard issue with St. Louis style barbecue.  While St. Louis style is heavily influenced by their sister city - Kansas City - rather than heavy molasses flavors, St. Louis Barbecue is tomato based with a lot of sweet and a little vinegary acid.  It's similar to Eastern and South Carolina sauce, but much thicker and heartier with less heat.

After the St. Louis stint, life brought the B's to North-Central Illinois.  For those who don't know, Northern Illinois isn't much known for Barbecue, but whooo boy, that Italian Beef AND THOSE PIZZAS!  It was while in Northern Illinois, that Papa B really started experimenting and developing his Barbecue Rubs, Sauces, and Smoking Techniques; mostly because there wasn't any good barbecue to be had, and he was longing for that smokey, meaty goodness.  What Northern Illinois does have is some exceptional pizza.  Sorry New York, y'all just don't know...  Deep Dish, Tavern Style, Thin and Crispy, Pan...  and the flavors!  Who knew there were so many ways to make pizza.  Being around some of the best pizza in the world re-ignited Papa B's pizza passion and in between smoking barbecue, he began working on home-made dough and sauce recipes.  What came to be was a fantastically balanced sauce that marries several different regional pizza flavors into a wholly unique taste like no other.  If you can't pinpoint a specific style, it's because Papa B's pizza is it's own creation!  Maybe it will become 'sconsin style??

6 years and two more relocations later, the B's arrived in the Barbecue Promised Lands!  BBQ Heaven.  Memphis.

If you know, you know.  For those that don't know, Memphis is hallowed ground when it comes to Barbecue.  There are two things that Memphis takes with equal solemn seriousness:  Church and Barbecue.  The food has soul, there's no other way to describe it. The ribs are Baby Backs and the wood smoke is Hickory.  While Memphis is known for their dry-rubbed ribs, they will also do sprays and mops on the ribs as well during the smoking process.  Sauces tend to be thick, rich, and bold. It was here that Papa B learned about "Muddy Ribs" which is the style served at Papa B's Pizza and Barbecue.  The pulled pork in Memphis is on another level.  Papa B's pulled pork is influenced by Central BBQ and One and Only BBQ.  It is sweet, sticky, slightly sour, and sauce-free. Chicken, Turkey, Sausage, you name it - they smoke it.  

The stay in the Memphis area (Atoka, specifically) was relatively short, but in that time, the B's made it a point to visit as many barbecue restaurants as they could.  Visits included legendary spots such as The Commissary, Interstate Bar-B-Q, Corky's, Tom's, Rendezvous, Central BBQ, Top's BBQ, One and Only BBQ, and every mom-n-pop-hole-in-the-wall joint they could find.  Papa B made it a point to talk with every barbecue place that would let him and the knowledge gained took his craft to a much higher level. The Atoka Smoke Pizza commemorates the brief time spent in the mid-south as it captures the flavors and vibe of the region. 

Just one more relocation to go, Northeast Wisconsin (and home for Mrs. Tina) it is.  The long journey has brought the B's back to Mrs. Tina's home stomping grounds.  With years of practice and a desire to share all that was learned over the years, Papa B finally scrounged up the courage to open a small restaurant.  For about 5 years, locations were looked at, weeded through, and passed up in favor of the location in Sherwood.  Mrs. Tina recognized the location given it's proximity to High Cliff State Park and being renowned as a close-knit community.  What wasn't expected, is the phenomenal community support received.  

Thank You Sherwood for helping us see our dream come true!

Papa B & Mrs. Tina