‘It’s been a passion’: Retired police officer brings love for barbecue to Hoffman Estates with I Smell Bacon
When retired Hoffman Estates police lieutenant Mark Mueller decided to open a restaurant, he couldn’t help himself when it came to the name — I Smell Bacon BBQ & Pub.
“Growing up, when you saw the police you’d say ‘I smell bacon,’ so there you go,” he said.
The barbecue spot opened on Aug. 31 last year — National Bacon Day, not coincidentally — in the space formerly occupied by Burnt Pizza in the Poplar Prairie Stone Crossing shopping center, just north of I-90 on the west side of Route 59.
Mueller, who retired from the force in 2020 after 28 years of service, has always loved grilling and smoking meats, and would frequently bring barbecue to the police station or to parties for the youth football teams he coached.
“Everyone was always like, ‘You should open a place,’” he said.
But opening a restaurant is hardly retirement.
“It’s been 16 hours a day, every day. But it’s been a passion,” he said. “When people come in and say this is better than anything they’ve had in Texas, better than anything they’ve had traveling around the country, that’s nice to hear. That makes it worth it.”
Everything at I Smell Bacon, from the sauces to the sides, is made fresh daily in house. The meats are cooked in a Southern Pride smoker you can see from the dining room.
The menu takes advantage of the versatility of smoked chicken, pork and brisket, using them as options to top a variety of starters like Smokehouse Nachos, Chuck Wagon Cheesy Mac and Tumbleweed Tater Tots.
Smoked brisket, chicken and pulled pork can be ordered as sandwiches or wraps. Other sandwich options include the Texas sausage, a BLT and the Smoked Lil Bologna, featuring thick smoked bologna with caramelized onions, American cheese and Miracle Whip on Texas toast.
All the meats are offered as individual or combo platters served with sides. Ribs, a customer favorite, are available in half and full slabs as well as rib tips.
Sides are a combination of the traditional, such as baked beans, green beans, macaroni and cheese and cornbread, and tweaked classics like the two potato salad options, the creamy cilantro and the fried potato salad.
The restaurant also offers daily specials, including twists on smoked meats such as Tex-Mex Tuesday when they offer a 3-pound, foot-long burrito stuffed with pork, chicken, bacon and brisket.
Mueller said he’s been mindful about prices and has purposely kept them low.
“We’ve actually had several people that have come in and said, ‘You want some constructive criticism? You need to raise your prices,’” he said. “Our portions are maybe a little big for what we’re charging, but I’d rather have people come in and enjoy it and say they’re coming back than say, ‘Oh my (gosh), that’s overpriced.’”
Long a backyard cook, Mueller said transitioning to smoking meats inside a restaurant involved a lot of trial and error, especially when it came to choosing the wood and how much to use.
“You want to have enough smoke, but not too much, so learning that took a while,” he said. “We’re still learning.”
The smoker, which has a series of racks on a rotisserie, can cook 500 pounds of meat at a time.
“I can do 80 racks of ribs at a time,” he said. “The biggest thing to learn is when to cook.”
Unlike other cuisines, you can’t pivot as quickly with barbecue when you start running low. A brisket or pork shoulder can take 11 to 14 hours to cook, depending on the smoker’s temperature.
He said just like competition barbecue, they’ll wrap meats once they’re done cooking, which helps break down connective tissues and retain moisture.
“If you rush it, it may be juicy and tender, but it’s not going to be how it should be,” he said. “It’s not going to be right, and I’ll know it and that’ll bug me.”
With his ties to the community, Mueller said the Hoffman Estates location was a natural for him. But it also helped fill a dining niche in the area.
“There’s restaurants all around us, but we’re staying in our lane,” he said. “We’re the only barbecue within like 13 miles.”