Well, we have all eaten ourselves thru several tables of holiday goodies like turkey, dressing, ham, pies, cakes, etc. so maybe it’s time to take a break from “holiday food” to southern barbecue. If you have not given BoDeans Barbecue in Alabaster a try, I think you are missing a treat. No frills now, so don’t go in expecting anything but great barbeque and just like the sign says “Best Dang Baked Potato in Town”. Yumm – call ahead and your family supper will be waiting for pickup.

Dean Peeples, a 1982 Thompson grad is the owner and strangely enough his very first paying job was in that same building in 1980. Tad Cairns, owner of the Alabaster Dairy Queen, put Dean to work there when he was a junior in high school.

Dean is also a graduate of Alabama Aviation Technical College in Ozark and for many years was an aircraft mechanic. In 1994 his dad, Bob Peeples, needed Dean to help run Broadway Barbeque and when his father died in 2006 Dean realized he wanted his own business. The opportunity to purchase the “old” Dairy Queen building was in the near future so the deal fit the time frame.

I asked Dean why he came back to Alabaster for his livelihood and he said the area is still home (born right across the street at Shelby Medical Center) and still familiar. Right now he lives in Wilsonville. He is widowed and has no children of his own.

Dean is a passionate “Harley Hog” and is still riding his original 1987 Harley Softtail that took him across the United States. His dream trip would be to drive the 95,000 miles of the Alaskan Highway. That trip would take about two and a half months and would about trash your motor!

Most people would not think this long-haired muscle man would be interested in art and photography. Hobbies include old cameras and guns. He is a frequent bookstore customer and loves sci-fi and horror movies. Diversity must be his middle name.

Dean likes to be busy, productive and helpful. In 20 years he hopes to still maintain good health, be available to help others, stay active and maybe live a dream or two.