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<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; A cheer went up at Mission BBQ when the clock struck 6 p.m., as dozens of people who gathered to take part in the restaurant&#8217;s soft opening on Friday night.</p><p>But, considering the company&#8217;s longstanding history of giving back to what they deem &#8220;American heroes,&#8221; Friday&#8217;s event was about more than just snagging some tasty brisket.</p><p>According to Jerry Sullivan, director of operations for the new barbecue joint, the Wilkes-Barre Township location, situated at 271 Mundy St., will officially become the company&#8217;s 87th location when it holds its grand opening this Monday at noon.</p><p>That&#8217;s an incredibly impressive feat when you consider that the restaurant&#8217;s first location was opened only in 2011 in the Annapolis, Maryland, area by Bill Kraus and Steve Newton. Sullivan said the pair wanted to honor American heroes &#8212; veterans and first responders &#8212; and that&#8217;s probably part of why the chain has exploded in popularity.</p><p>&#8220;I think there are a lot of veterans, and a lot of patriotic people in this country,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And the fact that the food is good probably has something to do with it.&#8221;</p><p>Friday&#8217;s soft opening was more than just a simple test run, though. From 6 to 9 p.m., 100% of the proceeds would be donated to the United Service Organizations, or USO, a nonprofit organization that provides entertainment to troops in the various branches of the military. Sullivan said it&#8217;s the third such charitable event at Mission BBQ this week, with sales benefiting local fire departments on Wednesday and police departments on Thursday.</p><p>Outside, there were plenty of the &#8220;patriotic people&#8221; Sullivan mentioned, patiently lined up outside before the official opening.</p><p>Some of those in line were from the local branch of the U.S. Naval Construction Battalions &#8212; better known as the Seabees &#8212; including Mike Boncheck and Al Nudelman.</p><p>Nudelman, who said he&#8217;d been to other Mission BBQ locations, said it was important for the group to come out in support of USO night.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re all about coming with them here; we want to show them we&#8217;re in support,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Boncheck added, &#8220;We&#8217;re not just coming to support them, we&#8217;re coming to promote them.&#8221;</p><p>He explained that the Seabees will be acting as an honor guard during the grand opening Monday, which will be complete with a live rendition of &#8220;The Star-Spangled Banner.&#8221; Mission BBQ plays a recording of the national anthem every day at noon, but Sullivan said the company likes to do something special for the grand openings.</p><p>If you come out to the grand opening next week, Sullivan suggested you might want to check out either the Texas-style brisket or the North Carolina-style pulled pork, as they are two of the company&#8217;s most popular offerings. Your meal can also be completed with other down-home sides like corn bread and mac-and-cheese.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A crowd gathers outside Mission BBQ, letting out an excited cheer once the restaurant open its doors for the soft-opening held in support of the USO. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_80108330_2462243290553279_4253308999446822912_n.jpg</photo0><caption0>A crowd gathers outside Mission BBQ, letting out an excited cheer once the restaurant open its doors for the soft-opening held in support of the USO. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Proceeds support USO; grand opening set for Monday</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Mission BBQ holds soft opening supporting USO; grand opening Monday