South Moon BBQ — Restaurant in Squaw Grove Township

We booked South Moon BBQ as our wedding caterer and their Montgomery location as our wedding venue in August 2018 for our wedding in September 2019. We paid in full at that time to receive a prepay discount. The contract, and Katie, owner of South Moon, both stated that we would hold the wedding outdoors but would have use of the entire building in the case of inclement weather. South Moon was to provide a tent, lighting, dance floor, all tables and table clothes, chairs, plates and utensils, food, alcohol, non-alcoholic beverages, servers, and a bartender.

Fast forward to May 2019- my family and I drove by “their” Montgomery building and noticed a for sale/lease sign out front. Once I finally got into contact with South Moon, two days after my initial call to them, Katie tells me that their purchase of the building fell through but, quote, “I already have an alternate venue on the Fox River in a historic building for you that I bartered to get for you at no extra charge.” At this point, I am understanding and ok with an alternate location, granted nothing changes from the original agreement, other than the location. Fast forward again to a week later, which is the earliest I could be shown the “new building.” I arrive with my aunt and Katie shows me a large open patch of grass along the river, and a smaller patch of grass with trees. The “historic building” is about 150 feet away. Their plan was to put up the tent on the grassy area and use the smaller patch for the ceremony. The only indoor access we would have would be access to bathrooms (which she couldn’t show us), that are located inside the historic building, that may or may not have an event going on or be open to the public at the time of our wedding. Our guests would have to walk through that restaurant's patio to access the bathrooms. There was also no access to electricity- a generator would have to be brought in. This was not a suitable alternative.

After this, there was a ton of back and forth and basically no help from South Moon. Since they were unable to provide a comparable alternate venue, my fiancé and I rushed to find one that was still available so close to the wedding date and still hoped to use South Moon for catering services. I asked Katie to refund us for the tent, lighting, and dance floor that she would no longer be providing, told her we would no longer need tables and chairs, and also asked them to contribute $592 towards the extra cost of the new venue we found after she stated they would consider splitting extra costs incurred due to this in previous conversations. I told her that we would be ok with only serving wine and beer and they could cut out well drinks if that would help their bottom line. On 5/29, she said that instead of doing the wedding they would refund in full.

At this point, we had already been strung along for almost three weeks while we tried to work with them. We provided them with the credit card info for the refund on 5/30, and were told we should receive it “sometime next week.” Today, 6/19, I finally received the refund after numerous lies and assurances from Katie in the meantime that the refund was processed on 5/30. After asking for weeks for a receipt, she sent one to me on 6/14 dated 6/14. She never even processed the refund on 5/30.

On top of all of this, when my dad emailed her asking about the status of the refund that we needed due to the fact that they were unable to provide alternative plans for our wedding and we needed the funds to plan everything over again, she responded and told him that they offered us a better venue than we had originally booked for no extra charge and that we were trying to get extra money out of them and that is why they decided to not do the wedding. So, instead of apologizing for this horrible situation that was 100% on them, they blamed us, their customer, in writing. They never even notified us that there was an issue with the location or any of the plans- we had to contact them. Their mistreatment of the situation is fully documented in emails and...

I like to try new BBQ wherever I go and usually have a favorite to which I compare all others. I was lucky enough that my favorite que was from a place in my hometown, and for years I have compared all new places to this standard. I've had great food from lots of places across the country but my favorite never really changed. That was until I tried Southern Moon.

My in-laws live in a nearby town and had tried it and told us about it. Of course, I expected good BBQ, but I knew that my favorite would not be usurped; no other place has yet to best it. We arrived at the eclectically decorated restaurant and I was immediately struck by the decidedly quirky and nostalgic atmosphere. Vintage toys and pop culture appointments filled almost all the wall space and several curio cabinets. Flashing lights on pinball machines in the arcade in the back "Mullet Room" (party in the back?) blinked and beckoned. There was a nice selection of craft and local beers and liquor that were for sale for take home as well.

We were welcomed and sat in very timely manner and our server Sean was quick to take our drink orders, I had a Riverland Rye IPA (whos keg ran out, so I switched to some other IPA that was good but I cannot remember) with my father in law and the ladies had Pepsi products. We all spit some of the wings with the "bone" sauce which turned out to be a standout item for us on this visit. They were cooked perfectly and the bone sauce was remarkable. My wife and in-laws all decided to get an item each and share the sides so we could all sample. My mother in law ordered burnt ends, but they were out, so Sean suggested a close alternative which ended up being very good. My pulled pork was juicy and flavorful. Though the two house sauces, one sweet and one heat, were delicious, I had to opt for the bone sauce that came on the wings which our sever brought out for me. Its possibly my new favorite sauce of all time. FIL ordered a normal brisket sandwich which was also very good. The sides we split were also outstanding. We did baked beans, coleslaw, fried potato salad, and corn bread, all of which were excellent especially the slaw.

While eating we were visited by Harlan, the owner, who we couldn't adulate enough. He was very nice and funny and told us about his stores journey and experimentation with other locations. We learned that it was a little bit of a family affair, and our server was even his son. You can tell that there is a very wholesome and earnest effort in Harlan's work, not just in the smoker but in the entire ensemble that is his restaurant. Friendly service, fun atmosphere and the BBQ to back it all up show that none of it is in vain.

Its a shame that it took me this long to get my hands on some but it's now, even after just one visit, my new number one. It's not every day that a king is usurped.

Long live...

I like the premise of the restaurant. But the small portions (especially rib tips) and basic BBQ sauce flavors weren't impressive.

Menu: Not enough items. I understand though that they just opened. I felt meal options were missing. A "Build your own" would be great. Maybe a brisket, pulled pork and chicken sandwich on buttered Texas toast with a side of slaw and fries or corn.

The key item missing was the hot link. In all of the Q restaurants I've patronized, this is the first without the iconic hotlink. (Also missing the mustard Q to go with it.)

Sauce: Great sauce. Hard to get right but not there yet. The brown sugar/molasses was too prominent. Not enough spice.

Atmosphere: The iPad or whatever playing music was a good touch. Again. I understand just opening. Other than that it was great.

Waitress: Great experience. The most important aspect of a good Waitress is their attention to the cup. My cup never went empty. Regardless of what I'm drinking, I often find that I'm left without at most establishments. Not the case here.

Location: Decent location on the golf course. Interested in the winter view. May be difficult to find if you aren't a local.

Overall I would recommend. As this establishment is new to the area (from what I've heard). They'll only get better with time. If I remember correctly, they have alcohol now as well. Not that it's important. Nevertheless, promising local business. Excited that travel to a BBQ restaurant is so short now.

Would go again. But can't seem to get home before...