Interview by: Catherine Stiles

Portrait Photography by: Wyatt McSpadden

We are taking you to Spring, Texas just outside of Houston to meet this busy mom & co-owner of the popular bbq spot CorkScrew BBQ. Nichole is a dynamic lady who takes a “balanced life approach” to running her business and doing things all her own unique way.

Name: Nichole Buckman

BBQ Joint: CorkScrew BBQ

Age: 43

Nichole Buckman at CorkScrew BBQ. Photo by: Wyatt McSpadden

Tell me a little bit about where you are from and where you grew up?

I was born in Cleveland TX, and raised there untilI was nine on a farm in New Caney, I was a barefoot fishin tomboy for sure. I loved the animals, picked berries, and took an hour long bus ride every morning to school. After our house flooded multiple times, we finally moved to Spring, TX to an apt, which was quite a big change for us but I would say as a kid it was a welcomed change. We had lots of kids to play with and the apartments were surrounded by woods, so we had plenty of places to wander and explore. We moved a few other places until we finally settled back in Spring where I was till I moved out and moved to The Woodlands. I moved way before The Woodlands is what it is now. Basically we had the mall, a few restaurants, Target, not much, and pretty much no traffic. Ahh the good ol days!

What did your parents do? What influence did they have on you in becoming the woman you are today?

My mom was a controller for mostly oil companies and my dad was an entrepreneur, eventually becoming an archeologist and having a very successful career till he retired. My mom was a huge influence. My mom was an amazing southern cook, sweet as pie, loving and worked her butt off both in her career and at home. She taught me to cook with love not by recipe, and she taught me to be strong and loving. She gave me all she had and she still does. She is my rock and she is my best friend. My dad taught me to be free, go after what I want, and he was always proud of me even when I struggled when I was young. My Dad gave me all he could, always had time to talk to me for hours when I needed it the most, and he showed me how to see the beauty in nature, catch a fish, row a canoe, set up a campsite (a real one, no water no electric). I was for sure his fishin buddy. He had 5 girls and thank goodness at least one was a tomboy!

What were you like as a child? What did you want to be when you grew up?

How was I as a child? hmmm, I would say sweet, loving and cared about all of my family so much. A wanderer, dreamer, and I loved the thought about being in love. I always had a crush on a movie star and was determined we were getting married, Ralph Machio, Fred Savage, usually NOT the teenbop magazine kids, lol. I am not sure I really ever had a dream of what I wanted to be, I just really liked doing so many things. The only thing I did always know is I wanted to be a mom…I LOVED babies! My niece was born when I was in 3rd grade and I think that was one of my most memorable moments in life. I babysat from about ages 12 to 15. I had a roster of families that basically I got to pick and choose who I wanted to work for,…it was my own little business and it was awesome!

Tell me a little bit about Corkscrew BBQ and how it all came to be. How did it get started and what makes it such a special place?

CorkScrew really just kind of happened. It was started by my husband Will just cooking for people that were friends and just being a nice guy helping them out. After so long it became a lot of people and I decided he should be getting paid for his time. So, we built a website, got a DBA, bought some coolers, and the rest is history. CorkScrew is really special to us. We opened CorkScrew, not only while having 2 small children and quitting a steady income job with insurance, all because we wanted something more. We wanted to show our kids that if you want it, you have to WORK for it, and work really hard for it. Corkscrew is special because of all the people we have met over the years. All the laughter, the tears, the late nights and the early mornings make it worth it. Knowing how it started, and not giving up when it would have just been easier to go back to a 9-5…we knew if we just kept going it would be successful. We still continue with that mentality.

Will & Nichole Buckman at CorkScrew BBQ. Photo by: Wyatt McSpadden

What do you think people might not know about the day in the life of Nichole and your role in the business? Well, I am definitely a mom first. As much as the restaurant is our baby, our kids are our world. Then there is HBIC at the restaurant. I am the back of house, GM, to-go order lady, emailer, social media poster, cutter at times, a leader for our crew, menu writer, really whatever needs to be done. I love it!, I love being busy. I love interacting with customers, and I love working with Will every day. It's exciting and it can be stressful at the same time, but most of the time a good stressful.

How did you meet your husband? Fun fact we might not know about your relationship? Well we met when I was a freshman in high school and he was in 8th grade. I was best friends with his brother and at that time he was still just a little kid to me. I saw him over the years hanging out. Then I saw him again when he was 18, and he'd definitely grown up and was probably one of the sweetest guys I'd ever met. I knew for sure I wanted to be his girlfriend when he came over after a date and I had to play off being insanely jealous. Luckily she was crazy and the date ended early! About two months later we were dating and have been in love ever since… 24 years in March.

What is the best thing about being in the restaurant/bbq/hospitality business?   Meeting people and making people so happy!

How do you maintain your sanity with being a busy restaurateur, and a mom? I am not sure I do maintain my sanity…is that really possible? I guess I would say I just go with it. Just being overwhelmed…and then when I can't anymore, I put my phone away, shut the laptop, veg in front of the TV, and drink wine. It helps, lol.

The restaurant business can be one of the most exhausting businesses to be in...Any advice you can give as to making it all happen every day and juggling that work/life balance? Just do your best. No one can ask for more than that. Practice what you feel like balance is to you. We really all have a different perspective on that. When we set out to do this restaurant, we wanted to maintain as much of a "normal life" as we could for our children. Of course, what we consider normal is not always normal to someone else. This is the reason we are closed onSundays and Mondays. Sunday has always been a family day. This is also why we close for a week in August to go on family vacas, and we close at Christmas and New Years. Our kids needed us to be there, and by doing that it helps us stay balanced.

What do you do for fun? Going to the lake, fishing, going to Target with my daughter, chillin outside with my son, having coffee with my mom, concerts, cooking, listening to music, and sometimes I just sit and watch reality shows for hours.

If you were going to give one piece of advice to a young person who wanted to get into the business of barbecue or just "food" in general, what would that be? You really have to love doing it. You have to love not just smoking meat or the cooking, but running a business. It's much more than just food, it's all of it…employees, taxes, costing, vendors, taxes, fix this, fix that, rarely a day off at the beginning, taxes, and still providing great food. It really is all worth it if you love it, but you have to go in with the love of food and the love of running your own business.

If you could do something outside of the restaurant/hospitality business, what would that be? Real Estate. I did commercial leasing and corporate housing prior to this and absolutely loved it. I decided to put it on the back burner to be a stay at home mom, which I would never trade. We do own some properties so I get to dabble in it a little and hopefully a bit more in the future.

When you actually get the chance...what do you do for fun with girlfriends or a "Night Out?" Wow, that's pretty rare, typically a night out would be Will and I going to eat fajitas and drink margaritas or dinner with some friends. We really aren't “night out” kind of people. We really prefer just chillin, playing darts, or hanging out… nothing crazy.

When you have guests in town are there any local restaurants, shops, or favorite attractions you like to direct them to? We really do love to go to the shops in Old Town Spring where the restaurant is. There are a lot of great new restaurants there too. We take people to GuadalaHarry's in Conroe, a really fun place on the water.

Favorite Musician? My daughter for sure! She has an amazing voice, writes amazing songs, and has so much passion when she sings. As far as famous artists.. I can't narrow that down. I love all kinds of music and there are just too many to choose from.

If you were to empty out your purse on the table right now, what would we find? Everything, you need. I got it. I found an avocado in there once. I’m not sure how it got there, but I am going to say I put it in there at some point.

Is there a local or national charitable cause that you support and would like more people to be aware of? We are really big on local charities. Greater Houston Dog Rescue, Montgomery County food shelter, Kaitlyn's Promise, Down Home Ranch (Empowering the lives of people with disabilities, Stand for the Silent, Heroes on the Water benefiting veterans, local schools, animal shelters, there are so many small organizations that are working so hard to help so many.

Any specials or promotions you would like us to share... Corkscrewbbq.com is where people can order online!

We end each interview with a piece we can share from your kitchen to the reader’s home kitchen. Think of it as sharing a recipe card from one good friend to another. What is a favorite recipe you like to share from your home kitchen when you are entertaining with friends and family?

Nichole’s Pork Chops and Potatoes

This is Will’s favorite. It's an easy recipe for a work or school night.

Recipe Directions: I don't have measurements, so just use as much seasoning on everything as you like. I like a lot.

Ingredients:

4-6 Boneless or bone-in pork chops, not too thin or too thick

Family size can Cream of mushroom (or make it yourself)

2 large baking potatoes, peel and slice thin

White onions, sliced thin

Milk

salt

pepper

granulated garlic or finely chopped garlic

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350*

Mix cream of mushroom with a 1/2 can of milk, pour enough to cover the bottom of a casserole dish. Next, lay potatoes evenly on the bottom of the dish and put some onions on top. Next, Pour a little Cream of Mushroom Soup on top. Add salt and pepper and add more potatoes, and onions. Place the pork chops on top of the second row of potatoes and onion, and sprinkle garlic on top and again add salt/pepper. If you have more potatoes, layer those on top of the pork chops, salt and pepper again. Cover with remaining Cream of Mushroom Soup. Cook for 30 minutes, check for potatoes doneness. When the potatoes are ready, you're ready to eat! Enjoy.

Thanks to Nichole for sharing her story! You guys get out to Spring, Texas and say hey to the gang at CorkScrew BBQ for us soon! Support your local bbq joints where you can and until next time!

Catherine Stiles