Fundraiser for Symphony Youth Orchestra on Memorial Day
By Brenda Kimberlin
For the St. Louis American
When Minnie Walker fired up her backyard grill in her North St. Louis neighborhood, she always had plenty of company. “They’d smell Minnie’s smoke and had to get over there,” said Earline Walker, Minnie’s daughter-in-law and co-owner of Smoki O’s, a barbecue restaurant that keeps Minnie’s memory and recipes alive at 1545 N. Broadway in downtown St. Louis.
This Memorial Day, thousands of bargain hunters will smell Minnie’s smoke when Smoki O’s debuts as the official barbecue vendor of the 34th Annual Gypsy Caravan, a sprawling flea and antique market that benefits the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s community outreach and music education programs.
The event, which takes place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown St. Louis between Market and Olive streets, and 19th and 23rd streets, typically attracts up to 30,000 shoppers looking for bargains, treasures and mouth-watering treats. Money raised through Gypsy Caravan helps the Symphony participate in more than 300 free community concert events each year.
Earline and her husband Otis were thrilled when the Symphony’s Volunteer Association asked them to participate, and not just because they love serving barbecue. The couple’s nephew, Bruce Walker, is a former member of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. Earline said when she mentioned the connection to the event’s chairperson, Becky Brown, Brown replied, “This is just destiny.”
Bruce, a cello player, would certainly agree. He still remembers his first Symphony performance, a Kinder Konzert. “I was in elementary school and I just remember thinking, “Oh my gosh, they’re playing Star Wars. That’s the coolest thing ever,” recalled Bruce from his home in Ellensburg, Washington, where he is studying for his master’s degree in music at Central Washington University.
After that first Symphony concert, Bruce went on to study strings at Rockwood South Middle School in Fenton, where he attended as a Voluntary Transfer Student. He graduated from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville ’s music program in 2005 before beginning graduate studies at CWU. As a full scholarship graduate assistant, Bruce directs the Kittitas Valley Youth Orchestra and teaches music to children through the University’s Preparatory Strings program, of which he is also the director.
His dream is to one day return to St. Louis to direct the Symphony’s Youth Orchestra. “But I don’t want to take Mr. Parkman’s job!” he laughed, referring to the Youth Orchestra’s current director, Scott Parkman, whom he considers a mentor.
Bruce’s love of Beethoven is matched only by his love of barbecue. When Smoki O’s first opened as a food booth at Soulard Market in 1997, Bruce worked the cash register, a job he held until college. By that time, Smoki O’s had moved to a permanent location on North Broadway, fulfilling a long-held dream for the Walker family.
“[Minnie Walker] had wanted to have a barbecue restaurant of her own,” said Earline, but family and other commitments got in the way. “So when she passed away in 1997, Otis opened [Smoki O’s] as a tribute to her.”
The restaurant, which is located just four blocks north of the Edward Jones Dome, uses Minnie’s original recipes, along with new ones developed by Otis and Earline. The Walkers say the secret to Smoki O’s unique flavor is in the rub. “You have to have exact measurements. You can’t put a little of this and a little of that. There’s a formula to the outcome.”
Loyal customers can taste the difference. “I was catering down on the riverfront and there was a gentleman. He was tasting his meat before he got out of line and he said, ‘Oh, this is Smoki O’s!’” Other specialties include Texas style brisket and snoot. “Snoot is a real tricky thing,” said Earline. “We have people coming for miles to get snoot.”
Although Smoki O’s serves everyone from judges, to blue collar workers to local celebrities at their restaurant, the Walkers are looking forward to feeding a brand new group of barbecue lovers at Gypsy Caravan. Bruce said when his aunt told him his family’s special brand of barbecue would be served at the annual Memorial Day event, he was “absolutely floored. That’s a huge honor. I was very proud.”
