Beloved BBQ Eatery & Renown Music Venue Vandalized
A popular local eatery, and an internationally-important music venue was vandalized Tuesday night (7-28) in Bayport, Minnesota, just east of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Along with serving award-winning barbecue (the restaurant was recently visited by Guy Fieri for feature on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) it is one of the last remaining Deep Blues music venues in the world supporting independent blues, folk, and country acts traveling through the region.
Chris Johnson, the beloved owner of Bayport BBQ operated by him and his family, arrived at his restaurant Wednesday morning to discover the store front facing 5th Avenue in Bayport had been spray painted with words like “rude” and “closed” and an expletive inscribed across a picture window. The front door was also screwed shut and the screw heads cut off, rendering the door un-useable.
Chris Johnson is the founder of the Deep Blues Festival, which draws its inspiration from the north Mississippi Hill Country Blues scene that grew out of the launch of Fat Possum Records and the music of artists such as Junior Kimbrough, R. L. Burnside, and T Model Ford. The “Deep Blues” term also grew to encompass artists such as Scott H. Biram, Possessed by Paul James, Charlie Parr, and others. Along with hosting Deep Blues festivals in Minnesota, and most recently in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Chris Johnson and Bayport BBQ regularly book artists traveling through the upper Midwest for intimate shows.
Luckily, Chris Johnson was able to find some neighborhood kids to help clean up the graffiti, and the vandalism won’t affect the food or music operations one bit, despite the assailant’s best efforts. Anyone with information on who might have vandalized the storefront is asked to call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at (651) 430-7600.
The next Deep Blues Fest is scheduled to happen on October 15th thru 18th in Clarksdale, MS. A Deep Blue Fest Northwest is also scheduled for July 31st thru August 2nd.
July 29, 2015 @ 10:52 am
Colsed, closed, whatever. Colse enough.
We can’t expect someone to be both an asshole AND a good speller, can we?
July 29, 2015 @ 11:51 am
You beat me to it…
July 29, 2015 @ 10:53 am
Having performed at both Bayport BBQ and Deep Blues festival on several occasions I can tell you that Chris and family are some of the best, kindest, and honest folks you’ll ever want to meet. They are held in the highest regard by everyone I know. I suppose this incident proof that there is no shortage of a-holes in the world.
July 29, 2015 @ 11:35 am
People suck.
July 29, 2015 @ 12:10 pm
=(
I’m glad to hear they, along with some friends, immediately got it cleaned up and it hasn’t affected their business though! =)
July 29, 2015 @ 1:03 pm
So sad. I feel priviledged to have seen so many great bands there and eaten so much bbq while doing so.
Thanks for the Deep Blues Northwest mention, it’s going to be amazing.
July 29, 2015 @ 1:46 pm
heard that there wasn’t gonna be anymore music after 2015. i’m devastated. kinda pissed too and i know thats selfish but Bayport is a pretty amazing BBQ joint. i hope they catch the assholes who did this.
August 3, 2015 @ 3:04 pm
i dont have Facebook so i want to apologize if i offended anybody by my statement here. i get it now. still bummed by the news, greatful i got to experience it though.
July 29, 2015 @ 2:03 pm
Between this and the moron dentist from Edina, Minnesota is making all the wrong headlines today.
Glad to see people pitch in to clean it up, seems like the work of a disgruntled ex-employee or something.
July 29, 2015 @ 2:24 pm
Thanks for covering this. You’d have a hard time finding nicer, more generous folks than Chris Johnson and his family.
July 29, 2015 @ 8:41 pm
You gotta be quite the dumb ass to misspell closed TWICE. Shouldn’t be hard for Chris to figure out which illiterate was the culprit.
July 30, 2015 @ 7:17 am
Sorry this happened. Hope they find the culprits. With every success there is always some pitfalls. Good luck going forward. Your uncle and aunt, Wayne and Dianne.
July 30, 2015 @ 8:05 am
Guy Fieri is the Florida Georgia Line of the foodie world. Ugh.
And I’m not knocking the food at Bayport BBQ.
July 30, 2015 @ 11:25 am
All Fieri does is present food and where and who makes it. That analogy doesn’t really make sense.
July 30, 2015 @ 11:45 am
It makes sense to foodies. He isn’t a top chef and none of his kitchens are helmed by a top chef.