Fly By’s brings south Texas BBQ to the Big Horn Basin

Published by admin on Thu, 06/15/2023 - 11:59am
By: 
Stephanie Tolman
Jennifer and Jordan Crain have been involved in the restaurant business their whole lives, but never thought that journey would lead them to the small town of Burlington, Wyo. 
During Jordan’s time working in different restaurants, he came in contact with Felix Stehling, a businessman and restaurateur, recognized for starting the Taco Cabana franchise which now has 148 locations in Texas and New Mexico. Stehling saw something in Jordan early on. “He started training me and said he recognized something of himself in me. He told me I would own my own business someday. I didn’t believe him at the time, but he was right,” said Jordan.

Jordan has worked his way up from a $120 grill and his ’79 pickup, catering birthday parties or whatever was available. Along the way, he met Jennifer and they started their family, adding their two kids Logan and Lillian. They worked towards owning their first food truck and in 2017, they were able to do just that. 

In the fall of 2020, they opened their first restaurant in Devine, Texas. After having some issues with their landlord, the Crains went back to a food truck and stuck mostly to catering special events, but always looking for the next building. Jennifer would scour the internet and real-estate sites looking for possible properties. “We found some that were too expensive or didn’t have what we wanted. One night I came across the perfect place, but it was in Wyoming. I mentioned it to Jordan, he hesitated only a couple minutes before asking if we wanted to stay in south Texas or if we were willing to take our business somewhere else.” 

They immediately contacted the owner, Chris Davidson, and planned their first trip up to check out the building. In what they call a “shocking first visit,” the couple drove through the deep freeze of a Wyoming January, experiencing deep snow and icy roads for the first time. While the weather made them wary, spending just four days in the area was all it took for them to sign the lease.

“We had never been to Wyoming, we thought at one point that Montana or Colorado were options but had never considered Wyoming. God works on the other side of crazy or just the other side of fear and we took the leap of faith,” said Jordan. 

They were able to sell their food truck, trailer and get everything else in order in just a month and a half to start their move officially. 

Logan and Lillian have been a huge part of the business. They have been involved from early on and have been learning real world skills and life lessons while working alongside their parents, doing everything from dishes, to cooking to baking some delicious banana bread. 

Fly By’s opened last week and much to the surprise of the Crains, they sold out. Jennifer said, “We thought we bought enough for the whole week but sold out in one day. We had to close down for a couple days to go buy more groceries and start prepping again.” 

“As we’ve made each move, we’ve adjusted and improved little aspects of our business. The Burlington location has everything we could want. We have a custom built barbecue pit from Tim Sills that can hold 20 to 30 briskets at a time. I only use mesquite wood in our smoker and we have it delivered from Seguin, Texas. It’s a hard wood, with great flavor and through time and experience, I’ve learned how to regulate the temperature to get the best and most tender brisket,” said Jordan. 

“We want to provide a family friendly atmosphere with great customer service. We are humbled to be at the mercy of our customers while we work out the quirks. We want customers to feel like they are getting a small piece of south Texas when they open the door. We even serve Big Red, Texas Sweet Tea and RC Cola. All of our sides are our own recipes that are tried and true. We are authentic people with authentic food,” said Jordan. 

Fly By’s will be open Wednesday through Saturday 11am to 8 pm.

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