Our Story

It’s strange to say Neighbors began because of Covid, when so many restaurants closed because of Covid.  We had no plans of opening a restaurant then. 

We loved to cook and we were bored, so bored, during lock down.  We got an idea.  We contacted 8 couples who were friends in town and said let’s share dinner while all staying home!  Kevin cooked ribs for 18 people.  Each couple made sides or desert for 18 people and left them on their front porches.  I went house to house collecting up food.  We split them up into 9 boxes, each with a complete meal and redistributed them to each house.  We all text about how wonderful the food was during our meal.

That was the beginning!  As lock down ended, we started gathering again.  Kevin kept cooking BBQ and neighbors kept bringing side dishes and desserts.  We’d often hang out on the back deck and share a meal.  Over time favorites started to emerge.  Michael was repeatedly asked to bring his pasta salad.  Debbie brought twice baked potato casserole that was so good we all split the leftovers!  Terry’s banana pudding was another favorite.  Our children call it Terry’s banana pudding regardless of who makes it. 

One night over dinner we half-jokingly discussed opening a restaurant that served Kevin’s ribs, Debbie’s twice baked potato casserole, Michael’s pasta salad and Terry’s banana pudding.  We decided we had perfected the ultimate meal!

The group restaurant idea never panned out, but when Kevin retired, he decided to buy a commercial smoker and go for it!  He wanted to open a BBQ restaurant.  One night while discussing what sides to serve at the upcoming restaurant it occurred to us to ask our neighbors if we could use their recipes and make the ultimate meal available to everyone!  Once we got some enthusiastic yes answers we knew there was no question about the name.  The restaurant had to be called Neighbors!

It is our sincere hope that as you enjoy the ultimate meal that you feel the sense of belonging and friendship, we found with our neighbors those many evenings on the back deck!

Julie and Kevin