Gwinnett Daily Post

Staff Photo: Heather Darenberg Tim’s Rib Joint serves barbecue combos, including Tim’s Big Plate, pictured above. This plate includes pulled pork, beef brisket and ribs, but the meal usually includes chicken instead of ribs. Combos come with a choice of two sides, including Tim’s Potato Salad, collard greens and Texas toast. 

Tim’s Rib Joint

465 Dacula Road, Dacula

770-236-9580

• Open since: February 2007

• Location: Tim’s Rib Joint is located in a shopping center across the street from the Dacula Post Office, near the intersection of Dacula and Fence roads.

• Hours: Starting next week, Tim’s Rib Joint will be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. The restaurant serves breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday.

• Owner: Tim White is a Dacula resident who entered the restaurant business as a second career. He owned Southern Select BBQ and Catering in Atlanta before opening Tim’s Rib Joint.

• Atmosphere: Eating at Tim’s Rib Joint is like sitting down to a backyard barbecue at a friend’s house. White said he wanted his restaurant to have a rustic look. The walls of the restaurant are decorated to look like the exterior of a building, with an edge of a tin roof protruding slightly down from the ceiling. Mirrors on the wall double as the building’s windows, and a wood finish on the walls gives the restaurant a warm feel. After placing their order at the window, diners can sit at booths or tables covered by a tablecloth with a brown-and-cream checkered pattern.

White’s devotion to customer service is also apparent upon entering the restaurant. A promise of fast and friendly service is posted near the restaurant’s cash register, and the message includes White’s phone number. “And people do use it,” he said.

• Menu: Tim’s Rib Joint serves barbecue with all the fixings. Entrees include barbecue sandwiches, hamburgers and hotdogs, and barbecue combo plates. Tim’s Big Plate has helpings of chicken, pulled pork and beef brisket, served with two sides and Texas toast. Other plates include the Chicken and Rib Combo and the Smoked Rib Tips and Sausage Combo. Ribs are served in combos, on a sandwich, by the whole or half slab, and by the bone.

Sides include cole slaw, fried okra, collard greens, green beans and Tim’s Potato Salad. The restaurant also serves dessert, including sweet potato pie, peach cobbler and banana pudding. To wash it all down, the restaurant has Coca-Cola fountain drinks and tea.

On Saturday mornings, the restaurant also serves breakfast. One of the most popular items is the Salmon Croquet, which includes two croquets, three eggs, toast or a biscuit, and grits or country potatoes. Other breakfast entrees include an omelet, french toast and pancakes.

• Things you might not know: Tim’s Potato Salad has been featured in a Duke’s Mayonnaise TV commercial. White said the commercial typically airs during the summer months.