Coppertop BBQ harkens back to bygone era

There was  a time when things were simpler. When all you had to do was go outside to get some peace and quiet. A few passersby on horseback were the only people you might see in a day. And lunch was served from a chuckwagon or a white canvas tent. The food was cooked over an open flame and the delicious odors it produced could be smelled from miles away. The people were friendly and you could even order and pay for your food directly from a smartphone …

The Coppertop BBQ restaurant in Big Pine exists in just that time.  Blending the old style traditions of our western past with the cutting edge technology of today, it is a contradiction of the best kind.

“I’m kind of a nerd about technology,” states Matt Otten with a sense of pride. Matt is co-owner of, Coppertop BBQ, with his father, Hank Otten. “I especially love Google products. It’s all online- based. For the business, we use a Chrome Book, so everything we do is stored through Google.”

The BBQ also utilizes a Square reader, a point-of-sale system that can be run through any smartphone or tablet.

“Using square is great, because all of the transactions from any of our employee sales during the workday, go to one website. There I can look at all the transactions and reports of the day without needing to touch a cash register or a calculator! All of the tools to run a business that used to be so expensive, like a POS system, are antiquated if you just use the simple stuff like Google. Also, it’s all free or really cheap. Making it easier to thrive in business,” says Matt.

Otten, who studied Linguistics in college, had a love for something other than technology when he first started in the working world. “It was weird. I had a passion for the Japanese language growing up. I don’t really know why. I wasn’t into anime or anything like that. I just really liked the way it sounded.”

After getting an Associates Degree  in Southern California, he moved to Japan to study at an immersion school, which he hails as one of the best experiences of his life. He then moved back to Long Beach where he studied linguistics with the hope of one day being a translator.

After receiving his Bachelors Degree from Cal State Long Beach he accepted a job in Japan, teaching English. It was a fun job, but the pay was low and it was a lot of hard work.

He soon received another job offer in Japan that would havbe meant a huge step in pay and responsibility. But being the tech junkie he is, the writing on the wall was apparent to him. In a world where you can speak into a smartphone and it can deliver a perfect translation into any language, the days for a human translator were numbered. So Matt jumped at the chance to use his love of cutting-edge technology to help his Dad start a restaurant in the small town that Hank loved growing up.

Hank Otten grew up on a dairy farm. His family immigrated from Holland in 1955. They originally settled in Buena Park and then moved the farm to Torrance. But soon the city passed an ordinance prohibiting livestock within city limits. So he and his 8 brothers and sisters helped their parents move 500 head of cattle over the mountains to Bakersfield where they ran the family farm until 1998.

At that time, Hank took a job selling, John Deere heavy equipment to governmental agencies. But his whole life he had been passing through the Eastern Sierra and had always dreamed of living here. An abandoned coffeeshop and a beer made that dream come true.

“I was newly married, 26 years old, and we wanted to have a backyard BBQ party for all our friends,” recounted Hank. “The only problem was I didn’t know how to BBQ! So I borrowed my neighbor’s Weber grill and bought some beautiful ribeye steaks. I asked my friend how long to cook them and he said that it was one beer, per side!”

Well either the fire was too hot or he drank the beers too slow because he ruined them.

So from that day on, Hank set out to learn how to BBQ correctly. So after years of study, and I’m sure more beers, Hank was passing through Big Pine and noticed the odd shaped abandoned coffee shop at the north end of town. Thinking that it would make a perfect BBQ restaurant, Hank set his dream into motion. On June 15 of last year, the Coppertop BBQ served it’s first meal from their soon to be famous, Santa Maria pit-style barbecue and their shiny copper top grill which is reserved exclusively for their lip- smacking ribs.

One customer says “ I had the pulled pork sandwich and it was amazing! My wife and I also had the macaroni and cheese and I’ll tell you, it’s better than mom used to make…just don’t let her know I said that!”

Serving all the backyard favorites such as pork ribs, tri-tip, chicken and even hamburgers, they can handle whatever your appetite prefers. In fact, Hank is on a mission to have his burgers known as the best in the Eastern Sierra.

With a business of 90% tourists, word about the Coppertop BBQ restaurant is spreading fast. Be it word of mouth, their catering services, Facebook or even a stellar 5 star rating on Yelp! this little restaurant is primed for big things.

In fact, the only complaint thus far has been a lack of shade. So the Ottens recently bought that white canvas tent, reminiscent of days gone past when things were slower and easier.

Now with a large shaded room and free WiFi access, they are primed and ready to make a push to be on Guy Fieri’s, “Diners, Drive ins and Dives” on the Food Network. That is one of Hank’s goals for the business.

One thing is for certain, You can still count on old west style open flame food here in the Eastern Sierra, It’s just much more convenient now!