Michele Alphs, pictured above in front of the new Bummy’s BBQ food trailer, co-owns the business with her husband Jerry.

Summer or winter, rain or shine, pandemic or no pandemic, Jerry and Michele Alphs have rolled with the punches to continue doing what they love most: feeding their community.

The married couple has co-owned Kiester’s Kee Kafe since 2013.

So far, the restaurant has persevered through a fire debacle shortly after it opened and a pandemic which threatened small businesses nationwide.

More recently, however, the couple has put their talents on wheels with the establishment of a food truck business: Bummy’s BBQ.

Now, after a successful stint of food truck ownership, Jerry and Michele are introducing a second Bummy’s BBQ trailer to their operation.

The snazzy red trailer, emblazoned with a Bummy’s BBQ logo, was acquired by the couple last October.

“We bit the bullet and ordered a customized truck,” Michele explains, adding she and Jerry traveled all the way to Florida to find what they were looking for.

It was a combination of business success and the unprecedented pandemic which led the couple to expand their second business.

“COVID really made it grow a lot faster than we were expecting,” Michele says.

She explains Bummy’s BBQ was originally an experiment, spurred by Jerry’s love of grilling and the couple’s desire to expand their clientele.

In fact, its conception had nothing whatsoever to do with the COVID.

“Small towns are dying,” Michele admitted, adding that around 2015 or 2016 she and Jerry were considering ways they could expand their income beyond what Kee Kafe was bringing in.

“Getting customers to come to a small town is difficult,” Michele says. She figures a food truck business automatically creates a much wider range of customers.

Jerry and Michele started off small with their new venture, offering their food at outdoor events such as Kiester’s Farming of Yesteryear.

Their initial set-up involved a tent and a healthy dose of hope that the wind and weather would cooperate with their plans.

It was eventually the wind, however, that pushed the couple to consider upgrading their gear.

“After all the wind and bad weather, we said, ‘No more,’ and went to a truck,” Michele recalls.

As luck would have it, COVID still had not arrived when Jerry and Michele made a permanent investment in Bummy’s BBQ, purchasing their first food trailer in 2019.

A few months later it became clear the purchase was a better idea than they had realized. Kee Kafe was heavily restricted by COVID, but a food trailer could operate a little more freely.

“With everything shut down, it forced us to do more (with Bummy’s BBQ),” Michele reasons. “It forced us to expand our comfort zone.” 

Though operating a food truck represented a departure from Jerry and Michele’s initial business plans, Bummy’s BBQ was ultimately the reason Kee Kafe was able to remain in business throughout the pandemic.

“If it wasn’t for the trailer last year, this would not be open,” Michele says, gesturing around to her restaurant.

However, times have still been tough, and Jerry and Michele have had to make the difficult decision to scale back operations at Kee Kafe.

Michele shares starting next week, Kee Kafe will be limiting its services to breakfast, serving patrons from 6 to 8 a.m. on Tuesday through Friday.

Additionally, the restaurant will be closing its doors temporarily throughout June, July and August.

“Summer will be a big decision for us,” Michele says. She explains she and Jerry will use the time to assess whether they will re-open Kee Kafe following their hiatus.

It will be a difficult choice for the couple, who have invested themselves, heart and soul, in their restaurant.

Jerry and Michele were first inspired to open the restaurant out of a simple love of cooking for friends and family.

Even back in high school, Michele shares she enjoyed cooking for others. And now, her businesses aside, a large family of eight children and 13 grandchildren ensures she and Jerry will never run out of mouths to feed.

Jerry and Michele plan to continue providing their cooking to family, friends and strangers alike, regardless of what the future brings.

“We are expanding right now with our new trailer,” Michele says, noting that Bummy’s BBQ can now travel to communities as far away as Butterfield, St. James, Mankato, and Iowa.

The expansion will also apply to the food trailer’s menu.

Michele says the trailer currently offers a wide variety of barbecue-related entrees, including brisket, pulled pork, barbecue nachos, barbecue tacos and loaded macaroni and cheese.

She and Jerry plan to add some new sides to the menu to accompany their creamy jalapeño corn.

Additionally, Jerry and Michele are exploring the idea of starting a catering business.

“We’re working on getting a full catering menu on our website,” Michele says.

Those wishing to request catering services can visit bummysbbq.com or keekafe.com to learn more.

Both businesses can also be found on Facebook at Bummy’s BBQ and Kee Kafe, LLC.

Jerry and Michele themselves can be reached at 507-383-0169, where they are happy to hear from prospective customers.

“I like to feed people,” Michele laughs.