GQue Barbecue Opens Today in Westminster

The smoke continues to pour from new barbecue joints around town: GQue Championship BBQ opens at 11 a.m. today in Westminster, serving Kansas City-style barbecue from competitive pit master Jason Ganahl. According to the company's Facebook page, the kitchen will start out slowly, smoking enough meat for 200 customers today to allow the staff to gauge how lunch and dinner will flow.

GQue will serve ribs, brisket and chicken along with a variety of sides and four Colorado beers on tap from breweries in the immediate area. Ganahl is also a bourbon enthusiast so will have a selection of his favorites on hand to go with his award-winning smokehouse recipes. Sauces — a standard, savory mix called the Topper and a spiced up version called Hottish — will be served on the side and will also be available for sale by the bottle.

Last month, Ganahl scored 12th place at the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Championship in Bentonville, Arkansas from a field that was whittled down from 750 teams. GQue was the only team to represent Colorado in the final group of 50 at the event, which is put on by the Kansas City Barbecue Society.

The new restaurant features a massive Ole Hickory smoker that Ganahl named Duane, in which he'll burn a blend of pecan and hickory logs to give GQue's meats distinctive smoke and sweetness. The restaurant will be open for lunch and through dinner, or until the food runs out.