Above & Beyond Barbeque, a new venture from Derrick Winfield, will have a regular pop-up restaurant 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every first and third Sunday at Wood N Hog in Downtown Champaign beginning March 7th. Wood N Hog is closed on Sundays, and this collaboration between two Black business owners and friends seemed like a no-brainer.
Image from Above & Beyond Facebook page.
Winfield will be selling Black History Shoebox Lunch containers for $5. Additional details are below.
BARBEQUE POP-UP OPENING MARCH 7 IN DOWNTOWN CHAMPAIGN
Above & Beyond Barbeque is opening a regular pop-up location in Wood N Hog Barbecue at 500 N. Walnut Street, Champaign, (northeast corner of Washington & Walnut) starting March 7, on every first and third Sunday. Derrick Winfield, owner of Above & Beyond Detailing at 708 E. Main Street, Urbana since 2009, also worked in local restaurants for over 20 years. “Bringing my menu, which features a charred crust on pork baby back ribs and homeside sides, to a whole new clientele is a great opportunity”, said Winfield.
Mike McDonald opened Wood N Hog Barbecue in 2016 in an historically Black neighborhood on North Fourth Street and moved it to the former Lil Porgey’s Restaurant at 100 E. University Avenue, Urbana in 2018. He opened his second location in Downtown Champaign just as the pandemic hit in early 2020. He has known Winfield for over 15 years, first meeting on a local basketball court, and the two often discuss operating Black-owned businesses in Champaign County. When McDonald thought of the idea of offering his kitchen in Downtown Champaign, which is closed on Sundays, to Winfield, McDonald said, “We got together in a short time and figured out how this joint marketing effort will benefit us both. Getting a bit of extra income during these challenging times for restaurants will help sustain my place, and Derrick will get a chance to spread the word about his own food.”
At the pop-ups, Winfield will also be selling Black History Shoebox Lunch containers, with 100% of March proceeds to benefit the Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center, which focuses on afterschool and enrichment programs for Black youth in Urbana. The Shoebox Lunch containers are the concept of nationally known Detroit area soul food restaurant, Beans & Cornbread.
The cardboard box, for sale for $5/each, features Black History icons such as James
Baldwin, Medgar Evers, Ruby Bridges, Katherine Johnson, Bessie Coleman, and more. From their website: “Until 1965, Jim Crow laws made travel extremely difficult and dangerous for Black Americans in the south. Blacks were refused service in restaurants, rest areas and public transportation such as buses and trains. In order to nourish black travelers in the south, women prepared meals packed in old shoeboxes. The Civil Rights shoebox was inspired as a way to commemorate the resolve and resourcefulness of black travelers to sustain themselves during segregated times.”The Above & Beyond Barbeque menu is available on their Facebook page.
Above & Beyond Barbeque
500 N Walnut St
Champaign
Su, March 7th 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Top image from Above & Beyond Barbeque Facebook page.
