Two local barbecue businesses are letting their flames go out, at least temporarily

The past year has brought major growth to Salem's food truck scene, but said Ken Hayes, "the pie didn't get bigger, the pieces just got smaller."

Ken and Armenda Hayes debuted their first food truck, High on the Hog BBQ & Sweets, in March at Beehive Station. Six months later, they've pulled the truck from Beehive and from Salem in general.

The couple continues to operate a second High on the Hog truck at The Barn at Hickory Station, Albany's newly-opened food pod at 640 Hickory Street NW. They plan to refurbish the first cart and reopen it at The Barn as a second destination offering grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. 

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In an August 15 post to the businesses Facebook page they announced the following:

"We are temporarily suspending our Salem operations. Our last day open in Salem will be tomorrow, August 16th. We appreciate all of our loyal Salem customers and thank you for our success. We are working closely with a local commercial real estate broker to find a location in Salem for High on the Hog BBQ & Sweets to reopen soon."

Hayes confirmed they're looking for a brick-and-mortar location in Salem. Though nothing is official yet, they hope a more traditional restaurant space will allow them to pull in more visitors.

Across town, a second pit master made a similar announcement a few days later. 

Dan Bowling opened Father Hen's Texas BBQ in December 2018, coinciding with the opening of The Yard Food Park on State Street. 

In a Facebook post to the Father Hen's page Bowling shared "it is with a heavy heart I must announce Father Hen's is closing." 

The Texas-style barbecue business' last day of operations was Wednesday, August 28. 

Bowling said "we expected the summer to be more vibrant then it was." 

Slower sales coupled with higher payroll expenses than anticipated meant, said Bowling, that the business couldn't sustain itself. 

Nonetheless, he's optimistic for a second chapter as well.

"Father Hen's, he said, "was the first step in a bigger plan for a vocational training program. I'm still working on that side of things."

Bowling hopes to relaunch Father Hen's as a job training and social enterprise-focused business at a later date. 

Emily Teel is the Food & Drink Editor at the Statesman Journal. Contact her at eteel@statesmanjournal.com, Facebook, or Twitter. See what she's cooking and where she's eating this week on Instagram: @emily_teel

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