The Ohio State chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi is teaming up with the Buckeye Barbeque Qlub and Buckeyes Give Back for their third-annual charity event, the World’s Longest BBQ.
The barbecue will be held at the South Wexner Plaza and run 24 hours a day from Tuesday to Sunday.
AEPi, the Buckeye Barbeque Qlub and Buckeyes Give Back will donate all of their profits to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank and a few other hunger relief centers.
“We’re doing it for the Mid-Ohio Foodbank and a few other hunger alleviation centers that are associated with our nationals,” said Andrew Davis, a second-year in chemical engineering and vice president of AEPi. “We’re going to be out there grilling for five straight days and it’s all for charity.”
Food available includes all of the typical barbecue favorites and more.
“We always have hot dogs, hamburgers and then we have grilled cheese all the time,” said Sam Mintzer, a second-year in economics and president of AEPi. “Then we also have daily specials for breakfast, lunch, dinner and then we also have late night specials. We’re making grilled pizzas and tacos.”
One new addition to the menu is an item called the Score Burger. The Score Burger isn’t a normal menu item, it is a challenge.
“We’re calling it a Score Burger and you get a burger, but you can stack as many patties on top of each other as you want,” Mintzer said. “Whoever wins gets a prize and their name as the face of the Score Burger champion.”
Mintzer said the person that puts the most patties on a burger and is able to finish it, will win the contest.
Mostly everything on the menu is $3 or less.
“Everything is between $1 and $3,” Mintzer said. “Three dollars for the specials and $1-$2 for the regular items.”
They hope to make about $20,000 just like they did two years ago.
“We did $20,000 the first year,” said Andrew Weiner, a fourth-year in accounting and finance. “Last year wasn’t quite as successful. It was more like $12 to $15 (thousand). This year we’re looking for $20 (thousand) at least again.”
The barbecue has a budget of $1,000 obtained through grants from OSU, Coca-Cola, the Interfraternity Council, Undergraduate Student Government and the AEPi nationals.
In order to make money, the organizers of the event have created daily specials and themes, like “Fryday.”
“We’re doing one day that’s deep fried, that’s Friday, so deep-fried Fryday,” Mintzer said. “Everything is deep-fried. We’ll put it in a deep fryer.”
The fraternity, BBQ Qlub, and Buckeyes Give Back are also trying to make the charity a community event by inviting other clubs, charities and individuals to participate.
“We’re expecting different appearances from the Juggling Club and Break-Dance Club and the magic club so we want this to be a collective experience and philanthropy event for more than just us,” Weiner said.
Mintzer said Buck-I-Guy and City BBQ will also stop by the barbecue, which is an all-day event and is always manned by at least five people. Lunch and dinner hours can be hectic, Weiner said.
“It definitely gives you an appreciation for people who normally work in restaurants because there is so much to do and so much demand,” Weiner said.
Davis said daylight hours can be chaotic at times, but late night hours have their interesting moments.
“I did one of them on a Wednesday night and it was real fun cause when (The O Patio & Pub) lets out at 2 a.m., everyone comes over to the Barbeque and you get a real long line,” Davis said. “It kind of turned into a little party. It was fun.”
