DINING

RibCrib opens second location in Bay County. Take a peek inside the new BBQ joint.

Ebonee Burrell
The News Herald

PANAMA CITY — An Oklahoma-based barbecue restaurant is bringing its flavors to the Panama City area in a second location. 

RibCrib opened its doors Tuesday at 1031 W. 15th St., across from U-Haul Moving & Storage. The restaurant's original Bay County location opened in Callaway in early 2021. 

Restaurant Supervisor Eric McMillan said he heard a lot of positive feedback the first day from new and returning RibCrib customers. 

The Club is a popular menu item at RibCrib. The sandwich is served with one side and a pickle spear.

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"The community has really embraced everyone over here, and it's been a good thing for us because we are still growing," McMillan said. "We know people have anticipated us opening another restaurant, and we've seen most of those customers come in already and even met some new ones." 

The Panama City location operates daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with extended hours through 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

It offers indoor seating and outdoor patio seating on a covered deck. The building used to house a Trigo Mediterranean Grill. 

General Manager Summer Chester said she's elated to give people another option for lunch and dinner around Panama City.

"We're just super excited to be open, and it's encouraging to see the restaurant up and running," Chester said. "It's nice to see how excited the community is for it to be open as well, and we hope to serve them the best we can."

RibCrib built its reputation around hickory-smoked barbeque entrees of ribs, brisket, and chicken. The RibCrib menu — for dine-in or take-out —features salads and spuds, barbecue sandwiches and plates. Plates include a half rack or three bones of ribs, or one meat to four meats, served with two sides. The sides include seasoned fries, sweet and smoky beans, potato salad, mac and cheese, coleslaw, green beans and side salad.

Assistant General Manager Xander Parsons said the Club sandwich is a popular item. It's stacked with smoked chicken, pulled pork, thick-cut peppered bacon, cheddar, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and honey mustard on Texas toast. 

"The Club is one of our specialty sandwiches that always keeps customers coming back for more, and we also make phenomenal salads," Parsons said.

RibCrib also sells meat by the pound for take-out only and Pigout Packs for three or six people are available for take-out with a choice of meats and sides.

The restaurant offers a 25% discount to first responders every Tuesday and 10% off every day for active military members and veterans. 

McMillan said the success of the Callaway location was promising enough to bring another location to the area. Community-oriented events and fundraisers, often held at the original site, can be held at the new site, too. 

"We're hoping we can set the 15th Street restaurant as our base location in Panama City because it's a focal point in town," McMillan said. "Now that it's open, it will give us more availability and funds to help us grow our restaurant and give back to our community."

The Panhandle Restaurant Group has plans to open five total RibCrib restaurants in the Panhandle, with a third Bay County location within the next year, McMillan said. In addition, the group plans to bring at least four new restaurant concepts to Bay County, including C-Macs, 850 Pizza, Big Chicken, and PJ’s Coffee.