OKLAHOMA
“LIFE’S TOO SHORT TO BE UNHAPPY. DO WHAT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY.”
Image 117
That’s what Jeanne Smith told her son, Charles.
“As I was walking through a field on Langston University’s campus, it was then, I finally understood what she was talking about. ‘Follow your dream!’” Charles proclaimed.
Momma was obviously right. A happier, more boisterous man you will not find. Rumbling around the joint, helping out his employees by jumping in wherever he sees a need. He greets everyone there like a friend. I suspect most are.
“Everyone gets a free slice of cake at Leo’s. I can’t tell you exactly when this tradition started, but one day someone ‘suggested’ putting a dessert on the menu. Dad and grandma concocted the strawberry-banana cake. We’ve been handing it out ever since.”
W. Leo Smith opened his place in 1974. He learned the craft from his Uncle Ben, who had a joint in Tulsa. Over thirty years later, it still resembles the Sinclair gas station from which it sprung.
“I remember when we first opened. I was ten years old and I just knew this was what I wanted to do with my life,” Charles states. “We didn’t have nothing back then. Not even a cash register. We used a cigar box. We built everything. We laid down the floors, dropped the ceiling, built the pit.” (Image 118)
Image 118
“‘The only way is the right way, and the right way is Leo’s way!’ my daddy would shout. Dad was tough. He would say, ‘Shut up. Just look and learn.’ The only time he let me ask questions and respected me as an equal was when I opened up my own place, which I did in ’89.” Charles appropriately named it Leo & Son’s.
That venture didn’t work out for Charles, but he never lost his passion. He sold barbecue out of a truck for a few years. “I would park it in front of Byron’s Liquor Store during the week and take it from beauty shop to barber shop on the weekend. I was a one-man-band-rib-stand,” Charles says.
Then, on October 14, 1997, the third anniversary of Leo’s death, Leo’s B-B-Q caught fire. The family was going to sell the land and what was left.
“I was not going to let that happen. I loved that place too much. It meant too much to the community and the people who worked there, so I parked the truck and took it upon myself to re-open.”
Leo would have been proud.
CHARLES SMITH OF LEO’S B-B-Q’S FAVE CHICKEN
Preheat oven or grill to 375 degrees. Season chicken with pepper and salt. Let stand in refrigerator 4 to 6 hours. Place chicken on shallow pan. Put pats of butter in each corner and cook for 1 hour, or until internal temperature of chicken is 180 degrees. Be sure to flip chicken at least two or three times. Once finished, squeeze fresh lemon juice on top. (Image 119)
Image 119: Leo’s B-B-Q 3631 N. Kelley • Oklahoma City, OK 73111 • (405)424-LEOS(5367)