by Chloe Thompson
Chewelah offers a lively culinary landscape that boasts a variety of great restaurants, cafes, and breakfast spots to cater to all tastes – and there’s another exciting spot that just launched in February.
Set within the beautiful Chewelah General Store, 8251 BBQ is serving up plates of delicious Texas-style barbecue, all smoked in-house and with a menu of perfectly paired sides crafted by Jack and Michelle McDaniel. Having both served in the U.S. military, Jack and Michelle were keen to operate a veteran-owned business. The classification for a naval flight engineer, 8251, pays homage to Jack’s role in the military, which he was keen to champion in his new venture.
For anyone who hasn’t visited Chewelah General Store, owners Rob Nye and Jill Trinchero have created a truly stunning community space that promotes local producers, small businesses and artists. You can tell how every detail has been immaculately thought out, resulting in the perfect balance of art and nature, meeting a more industrial, modern interior, which all adds to the dining experience.
As someone who’s had quite limited experience with classic American barbecue, and after hearing how much effort and thought went into the cooking processes, I was thrilled to sample a platter of some of the most amazing meats I’ve ever seen. Cherrywood smoked, melt-in-the-mouth beef brisket that you could cut with a spoon. The pulled pork had the perfect balance of flavor and the ribs were some of the best I’ve tried – the epitome of “falls of the bone.” The handmade venison and wild boar smoked sausage bites had the perfect snap and were like nothing I’d ever had before.
The sides are certainly not an afterthought either. The Mexican street corn offered an excellent balance of sweet and fresh to the platter. Slow cooked beans with hearty sausage were rich and dynamic and the smoked mac & cheese is something I can see myself ordering again and again. Homemade pickles and coleslaw provided the perfect sharpness that really cuts the meat and, whilst I do love a traditional Hawaiian roll, the sourdough rolls on offer were just another example of how much thought and effort has gone into the food.
Jack and his family made the move to Chewelah from Texas in the summer of 2024, and he’s spent many years perfecting his recipes, even having custom smokers made to get them just right.
“Chewelah has been such a great move for our family, and Michelle and I are super excited to be starting this new chapter doing something we love,” Jack said. “Rob and Jill have worked so hard to make the Chewelah General Store an amazing space for the community to enjoy great food, local produce and art, and we’re really happy to continue that while bringing something new to town.”
Jill Trinchero said, “We feel so fortunate to have found Jack and Michelle to take over at the General Store. From the start we intended on passing this labor of love along to operators who are talented, passionate and share our vision. BBQ has a bit of a cult following and people know what to expect. It makes wonderful take-out and fits the aesthetic of Chewelah General Store to a T. We are thrilled that it will remain a place for the community to gather and share wonderful food. We look forward to being on the other side of the bar and joining in the fun!”
Chloe Thompson Slater, now living in Chewelah, graduated with an honors degree in journalism from the University of the West of Scotland and has worked on “some amazing projects,” including filming local counts at the Scottish independence referendum and general election. She specializes in marketing and PR services, and enjoys cooking, socializing, writing and pretty much anything to do with the outdoors.