LOSTINE — It’s not often a new business comes to Lostine, but Z’s BBQ has and set up shop in the historic Lostine Tavern.

“It’s a neat, historic building that’s been here for a hundred years plus and it’s been different things,” said Dan Zieman, who with wife, Autumn, owns and operates the business. “It’s neat to have that. I know it used to be a totally different thing in the same building. What we’re looking to do is serve really good food in a fun atmosphere as a place where you want to hang out. That’s our goal.”

Z’s was formerly located outside at The Depot between Enterprise and Joseph where Autumn’s mother and one sister operate the bed and breakfast and a brother and his girlfriend operate a sushi bar.

A home base

Zieman said he wants to contribute to — not detract from — the historic character of the Lostine Tavern. As a result, there will be no name change.

“What the official name will be is the Lostine Tavern, Home of Z’s BBQ,” he said. “It’s had that name for however long … there’s no reason to change that. We’ll add a little bit of a sign to the sign that’s already there.”

The tavern building, built in 1902, originally housed a pharmacy and doctor’s office. It also has been the home to a soda fountain, a tavern and a farm-to-table restaurant. The building also includes an apartment upstairs.

From their former location at The Depot, the Ziemans did their slow cooking of Texas barbecue-style meat and either sold it take out or ran a barbecue truck to various events.

“Her family still operates The Depot and we wanted to move on so we moved out here,” Zieman said. “We still move the food truck around — we haven’t gotten rid of that side of things — but we’ve got a home base now here.”

Now they can welcome about 100 diners and still maintain the take-out and food truck. Each Monday, the truck is parked at the Wallowa Lake Lodge and on weekends they cater or attend various community events. For example, you’ll see the Z’s BBQ truck at Chief Joseph Days later this month.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the days Z’s is open at the tavern.

The menu

The menu consists of a half-pound of either pulled pork, ribs or brisket served with various sides, such as baked beans and bread.

“My alarm’s going off at 3 in the morning to get up and get the fire started and get meat on by 4 a.m. because we start service by 4 in the afternoon,” he said. “Those things that we’re cooking take between eight and 12 hours sometimes. It’s a long process, but it’s good barbecue — ribs and brisket, pulled pork and we do different specials pretty regularly.”

The menu is nearly all homemade, Zieman said.

“Almost everything we serve, we make ourselves,” he said, which includes beans, sauces, pickles and numerous other items. They do serve bread that they purchase.

He does his cooking in a smoker out back of the tavern. There, he and friend, Jon Larson, keep the cooker going with a mix of oak and cherry wood, hard woods that burn slowly and at a steady heat.

South from Alaska

The Ziemans only moved to Wallowa County this spring, although they’ve visited regularly. Dan spent 10 years working as a food and beverage manager for a hotel that oversaw three restaurants in Skagway, Alaska, the gateway to the historic Yukon gold rush country.

They decided on the move last fall and then Dan spent the winter training his replacement.

Dan said Skagway, in the southeast coastal part of Alaska, can have a milder climate than Wallowa County and not as harsh as the inland reaches of the 49th state.

“Being right on the water, it stays around 30 degrees,” he said.

Larson and his girlfriend Rebekah Israel came with them. Larson regularly helps out at Z’s and Israel helps with major events when she’s not working at the Wild Carrot in Enterprise. The couple took up residence in the apartment upstairs from the tavern, while the Ziemans live behind it.

He will get a sample of Alaska cold during Wallowa County winters. Zieman will be outside cooking during the day, and plans to cook briskets and pork bellies and refrigerate them. He said he hopes to not have to be outside cooking every day in the coldest part of winter.

The future

One of the first additions the Ziemans hope to make is the addition of liquor, beer and wine service as soon as they obtain a liquor license. Dan said he expects that to come through in September.

That will likely lead to other features.

“Once the liquor license comes through, we’re going to add some fun night events to make it a fun place to be” such as live entertainment, he said. “We’ll bring back some of that good energy in the building.”

Come winter, Z’s may also offer breakfasts. Although one doesn’t often think of barbecue as a breakfast food, Zieman intends to change that.

“Pork belly, it’s just bacon in a different form,” he said. “Or a brisket eggs Benedict or a pork belly burrito or something.”

The addition of other menu items will help attain one of his goals.

“Our goal is to run out because we want to make it fresh every day,” he said.

But overall, the Ziemans are just glad to be here and in business.

“We’re glad to be meeting people and getting to be a part of the community,” Dan said. “We’re excited to be here.”

What: Barbecue dinners, dine-in, takeout or catered

Who: Dan and Autumn Zieman

Where: Lostine Tavern, 125 Highway 82, Lostine

When: Monday at Wallowa Lake Lodge 3-8 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday 4-8 p.m. at tavern

Phone: 612-219-2717

Email: zbbqtruck@gmail.com