Harms family opens Ray J's Barbecue in Malta

The one question that Ray and Ann Harms have become all too familiar with lately is "so, when are you going to open?"

That question was answered, without much warning, as the couple opened Ray J's Barbeque on Highway 2 in Malta last Wednesday at noon. Though the couple didn't advertise the soft opening, word of mouth and social media quickly alerted the public that Ray J's was open for business. What followed was a steady diet of customers Wednesday through Saturday. Following the lunch rush on Saturday, Ray and Ann Harms had a chance to sit and talk about their big day and why this week was the week to officially open the restaurant doors.

"We felt like we could have opened earlier, but we were stalling and nervous," Ann said. "We finally decided that we should just do it. It's been a really long process and sometimes it was hard to stay focused."

Ann and Ray both said that since they bought the building on Highway 2 and people knew at some point it would become a barbeque restaurant that they often were asked 'when will it be open?'

"When we would have people ask, it really renewed our commitment to this, but it was hard," Ann said. "We would drive by (the building) and see it sitting here and it was kind of like a cloud over our head. So it was nice to have people asking and showing such an interest."

Ray has spent his whole life in Malta and graduated from Malta High School in 1990. He and Ann, have been married for nearly 24 years. The couple met after Ann moved to Malta from South Dakota when she was 18...she worked at Dairy Queen at the time.

The couple balance out each other well.

"I'm a guy who the glass is always half full," Ray said. "And she is the opposite."

"We are a good team," said Ray.

At Ray J's, Ann makes all the breads and Ray makes all the meats – the two split salad creation down the middle.

The business started out of a little pull trailer (the now famous Chuckwagon, adorned with rustic fence slats, would come some years later.)

The Chuckwagon came about as sort of an accident. When Anna, Ray and Ann's youngest daughter, was a baby, Ray pulled what was at the time his "Elk Wagon" to the fair in order to keep the infant out of the sun. It wasn't long before the couple decided that their operation on wheels needed to expand and Ray had the entire "Elk Wagon" gutted, fitted with a cooking kitchen and the old wood slats were added.

"It was as Redneck as possible," Ray recalls. "Since then, it is kind of funny. When we have the Chuckwagon parked out in front of the building, I am always seeing people back up their cars to take pictures of it. I guess it is iconic to the business and sort of has become our brand."

Ray learned most of his smoking and cooking craft from longtime friend Doug Henry. Ray worked many years for Doug – the Harms attribute much of their success to Doug and his wife Judy – and Ray became interested in barbeque by watching Doug man a grill.

"Ray worked for him and Doug would host these big company picnics and he loves to feed people," Ann said. "Something about it intrigued Ray. Doug was the one who taught Ray to cook ribs, though Doug would never say that."

Ray and Ann purchased the building that houses Ray J's in about 2011 from Larry Matthews (Matthews ran the Delta/Ford dealership from the spot for many years.) Since that time, the Harms family has spent their time remodeling, finding kitchen equipment and making the building their own (Ray working various jobs in the warm months in order to allow the family to renovate during winter months.)

"People can do whatever they want as long as they stay focused," Ray said. "You have to be willing to take risks. Even if the idea scares you to death, you have to be willing to step outside of the box and just see how you can do it."

Ray and Ann have six children, Amber, Noah, Caleb, Eva, Emma and Anna. Each of their children work at Ray J's at one time or another and being able to work with his family is the main reason that Ray was inspired to follow his dream and open a restaurant.

Eva is a sophomore at Malta High School, and like the rest of her siblings, spends as much time at the new restaurant as possible.

"I have been here every day this week, before basketball and after," said Eva. "But I have spent a lot of time in this building. I am really excited to work here."

She said that sometimes it is hard working with her parents, but there isn't anything she can't handle.

Like the rest of her siblings, Anna, who is nine, has also been assisting at the restaurant since it opened.

"It's fun," she said. "I like helping to bring out the drinks and helping my mom out with the dishes."

Emma, who is a fifth grade student at Malta Elementary, said that her favorite menu item is the pulled pork sandwich and she really enjoys eating the bread her mother makes.

"It blends perfectly with the meat," she said.

When not at work, Emma is often called upon to cook the family dinner – her specialty is pasta – and her little sister, Anna, says she makes a mean breakfast.

"She makes the best breakfast omelets ever," Anna said.

"It's exciting and tiring," said Emma. "It is a lot of work, but it is rewarding."

That Emma thinks the job is rewarding is just as rewarding to her father since one of the main reasons he has decided to open a family business was to install a strong work ethic in his children.

"I want to teach my kids how to work," said Ray. "Nowadays, I can't send them to a place of business and have them taught how to work because people are afraid to get after or tell them they are doing something wrong. So I feel a sense of responsibility to all the youth to teach them to start at the bottom and work their way to the top."

Aidan Weise, a family cousin, was in the middle of her first shift helping out at Ray J's, and said she was having fun doing so. Nikki Nicholson, a family friend, was also on hand Saturday, wiping down tables and assisting in any way she could.

The first year that the Harms took their small trailer to the Phillips County Fair, Ray and Ann sold only Indian Tacos. The next year, Ray said – after being inspired from a cooking show – he added ribs to the menu, cooking seven racks the first time out.

"I'd cook one or two racks a day, kick them out and they sold," he said. "But it wasn't like they sold like gangbusters or anything. The following year we sold twenty-something ranks and today sell about 150 racks in three days."

Some of the most popular items that the Harms sell at the fair include fry bread and fry bread fries. Ray said that as soon as they feel like their feet are beneath them that Ray J's will start holding "Fair Food Friday's" in which their fair menu would be served to customers.

"We have had lots of people ask for some of those things so we are looking at doing that as well," Ray added.

The Harms family and friends have spent countless hours converting the old car dealership into a restaurant. Everywhere you look, there are little touches of each person who has helped make the dream a reailty (from the colored bottles turned into lampshades to the penny covered tables that are outlines with old bottle caps.

"We want the building to have an energy and that it be a come as you are restaurant," Ray said. "You can be wearing a suit and tie, or shorts and flip flops and you are going to get the same exact service either way."

"There are touches of our entire family here and it is starting to feel like home," added Ann.

One such touch that makes the restaurant unique is the "Before I Die" chalkboard that greets guests as they make their way through the doors of Ray J's. People have already taken to the idea of writing on the board, posting their wishes with chalk.

"If you want something, or need something or are dreaming about something, if you write it down, it becomes concrete," Ray said. "You have set a goal."

Ray said the first two days of work were rough but a routine has been worked out. In the first week of operation, Ann said that they based the amount of food they ordered to cook off of what they have sold in years past at the fair. After the lunchtime rush on Saturday, Ray J's had sold out of most of their meats and were more or less done with their workweek. But there is more to running a restaurant than just the food and customer service, namely, keeping the books. That job, thus far, has fallen to Ray's mother, Candy Soennichsen.

"Candy has worked at different restaurants throughout her life and probably has forgotten more about it than I will ever know," Ann said.

"My mom has been my biggest influence as far as being an entrepreneur," Ray said. "She paid for our first Chuckwagon and she always told me that I can do anything I put my mind to. It was my mom who said 'you need to go down and buy that trailer,' that is just the way my mom is."

Besides the excellent food, Ray and family are also dedicated to bringing their customers great service.

"When you eat my food, you are doing me a favor," Ray said. "So I want you to be satisfied. I hope that the product is consistent and people will get a belly-full."

As Saturday wound down and the Harms prepared to shutdown for the day before going off to watch Eva and the rest of the Malta M-ettes secure their spot at the Class B State Basketball Championship – Ray J's is closed during Malta home games.

"You have to be able to dream and you have to have the courage to peruse those dreams," said Ray. "This isn't easy, and they see us struggle. We have started this business with nothing. But we have people who support and believe in us. A big 'thank you' goes out to the community for all the support they have given us."