Photo courtesy of Full Moon Bar-B-Que.
Joe Maluff, left, and David Maluff of Full Moon Bar-B-Que are ready for to serve up another big Labor Day weekend full of ribs, pork, chicken and all the fixings.
In Alabama, it doesn’t get any bigger: college football kickoff collides with Labor Day weekend, and the state’s appetite for barbecue goes into overdrive. UAB plays Aug. 28, Auburn on Aug. 29, Alabama on Aug. 30 — and by Monday, it’s wall-to-wall cookouts, tailgates and family feasts.
For Full Moon Bar-B-Que, this four-day stretch is the ultimate test. Across its 16 locations — including 2000 Patton Chapel Road in Hoover — volume jumps by about 30% compared to a normal weekend, with about 280 to 300 employees on deck to meet demand. “Labor Day is one of those weekends where our pits never cool down,” said co-owner David Maluff. “It brings people together — whether it’s family cookouts, football tailgates or community gatherings — and Full Moon BBQ is at the center of all of it.”
The combination of football’s opening week and a major holiday makes for a perfect storm of orders — ranging from small family gatherings to large corporate events and stadium-size tailgates. “On Labor Day weekend, we sell enough ribs to fill about four to five pickup truck beds,” Maluff said.
National trends underscore the demand. According to the National Barbecue & Grilling Association, 63% of Americans celebrating Labor Day plan to grill or barbecue that weekend, and 47% of U.S. grill owners fire up their grills on Labor Day — making it the second most popular grilling holiday after the Fourth of July.
Preparation for the big weekend starts about a week in advance. “We make prep about a week ahead of time — making sure all our stores have placed orders for extra ingredients, confirming inventory meets customer demands, ensuring all staff is in place and scheduling food prep accordingly,” said co-owner Joe Maluff.
From there, it’s an all-hands-on-deck operation. Pit masters arrive before sunrise — sometimes as early as midnight — to get the hickory wood pits smoking. Kitchen staff prep sides, trimmings and desserts. “For those who don’t understand the life of a pit master or line cook on Labor Day weekend, just watch the smoke billow from the chimneys,” David Maluff said. “As long as that smoke is rising, the meat is being smoked, the ingredients are being prepped and the trimmings and desserts are in and out of the ovens.”
One of the keys to managing the rush is Full Moon’s point-of-sale (POS) system, which tracks ordering patterns year-round. “Our POS system gives us the data throughout the year on everything ordered, so we know what a regular day looks like versus a major holiday weekend like Labor Day,” Maluff said. “We apply those numbers to staffing and preparation, taking into account catering orders scheduled ahead of time so we have the right number of staff on-site and delivering.”
Though the company plays it modest when asked about the biggest single order ever fulfilled, they’ve handled everything from corporate luncheons to stadium-size tailgates. As for logistical challenges, David Maluff summed it up simply: “Having enough room in the dining room for everyone who wants to be there.”
