Hangar Welcomes Local Barbecue Guru

The Hangar has gone through some changes in the wake of the recent passing of Jerry Koski. Jerry's son, Paul Koski, has inherited the business and aims to return the bar and grill to its former heights with help from Terry and Megan Edgars.

The Edgars aim is to provide a family-friendly dining environment during the day, with specials that feature Terry's specialty: Two Brothers Barbecue.

The Hangar also wants to cater to the after-hours crowd by offering a late night happy hour, in addition to incorporating games like beer pong and cornhole, as well as free poker tournaments with prizes to entice patrons to their direction for late night entertainment. 

Terry Edgar is a disciplined man with a wild streak. He is an army veteran whom was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. An avid biker, he and his wife Megan often take cross country trips on his Harley Davidson. The most recent trip taken by the couple was to exchange vows in Las Vegas last month.

Edgar was raised in southern Alabama, and took an interest in preparing food at a young age, learning a lot of his skills from his mother. Growing up in a family with meager means, he would often rely on his culinary talent to use as gifts for his family at birthday and holidays. Putting a lot of heart and soul into it, he was able to make an extraordinary meal for loved ones while still being on a budget.

While employed by Mike Meiers at J&M Distributing, Two Brothers Barbecue was born. Edgar and Meiers set out to help out a colleague at work by using profits of sales of food to offset medical bills. While Meiers paid the cost to the food distributer and bought supplies, Edgar collected preorders and prepared the meals. The charity proved to be a big success and raised about $1,200 in the first go around.  

The name Two Brothers is somewhat deceiving. Edgar says that he often gets asked where the other brother is. Edgar stated that he is the other brother, but the way he explained it to me, the other brother is the camaraderie he forges with friends and his staff. It's the bond one feels when working on a common goal, for Two Brothers that is making the best possible food that they can.

Probably the biggest two members of the crew are Big Momma and Big Daddy.  Located behind the Hanger, Big Momma and Big Daddy are the gigantic offset wood smokers that Edgar uses to slow cook his meat to perfection.  The pair of smokers are made from repurposed propane tanks, Big Momma being a 250 gallon tank and Big Poppa is a whopping 1,000 gallon tank. Offset smoking requires a lot of time and patience but the results are tantalizing. Edgar states that when he makes beef brisket, he will allow it to smoke for at least 16 hours, often waking up on the hour all night just to make sure that the temperature is right.

Making barbecue a full time operation was a task that has been made easier by his staff. The Edgar's crew at the bar and grill include "Chef" Jeff Thomas, Derek Hopkins, Big Mike, and Joe Wilcoxon helping Edgar with the kitchen side of the operation. Dacherie Driver and Lucy Baker are assisting Megan, making sure that service is friendly and fast.

The menu has also been reworked and refined. One change includes 1/2 lb patties of premium beef. There will also be a nightly barbecue special, and Edgar is flirting with the idea of introducing some cajun dishes as well. The crew is also doing $1 ribs on Fridays, and 50 cent wings on Monday and Thursdays. With all the recent changes in the Hanger one thing will remain the same, the pizzas will go unchanged, as they will still be heaping with your favorite toppings and tons of cheese.

The Hangar is located on the east end of town on Hwy 2 (look for the plane!) or call 228-8280.