“I contacted my competition team, and I said, ‘Boys, let’s go.'”
Words spoken by Toby Antonson, Owner of the Lincoln-based BBQ trailer Pork’s Done, in the wake of the Arbor Day tornado outbreak that ripped through parts of southeast Nebraska last week.
Arial phots taken of damage to a Douglas county neighborhood in Elkhorn, Nebraska. (Office of the Governor)
On Friday, April 26, large hail, strong winds, and multiple twisters moved through several Nebraska counties — namely Douglas, Washington, and Lancaster — leaving a trail of destruction, preliminarily estimated to cost $11.5 million. Governor Jim Pillen has issued a disaster declaration and submit those totals to FEMA for federal aid — the subject of a phone call from President Joe Biden. Nearly 400 homes in Douglas and Washington counties were impacted by the wave of tornados, and almost 160 homes were completely destroyed.
In the midst of Friday’s chaos, and damage in northeast Lincoln, Antonson was concerned for the safety of his friend and colleague Blane Hunter, the owner of Omaha BBQ joint Porky Butts. Immediately, Antonson and Hunter put together a plan to help the relief effort, and travelled to the disaster zone Sunday.
The hodge-podge crew served 550 meals out of the Porky Butts competition trailer that day.
“We drove up Sunday morning. I contacted the manager of the South Lincoln Sam’s Club, we’ve known each other a long time, and got 500 sides of chips and little oranges (Cuties). With the weather and the wind, it’s hard to eat some of this BBQ stuff, so we needed handheld things,” Antonson storied to KLIN News.
When Antonson arrived in the Porky Butts trailer, his crew set up in the parking lot of Relevant Community Church — an Elkhorn church near the damage zone — working off a generator.
“We got in there, it was—it was shocking,” recounted the Lincoln Pitmaster. “There were no street lights, everything was just down. I saw a tree that looked like it just exploded. It’s just shocking. They put us into the big parking lot of the church, and we start wrapping sandwiches… We just started slinging.”
On Sunday, Antonson says his crew burned through four pans of cooked pork and six pans of cooked chicken. Rotella’s Italian Bakery in Omaha provided eight or nine trays of buns to the BBQ team, “Throughout that whole experience, I just thought we need to bring the food truck back up here.”
To-go box of BBQ stamped with stickers from Operation BBQ Relief & Pork’s Done. (Courtesy: Pork’s Done)
This is when Operation Barbecue Relief stepped in. The Kansas City based non-profit deploys to disaster-affected communities to deliver food to affected residents, first responders, and relief workers.
Because Operation Barbecue Relief deployed to nearby Walmart locations, Antonson decided to stay put at Relevant Church.
“I stayed up late and smoking meat. My wife and I went over to Sam’s again, reloaded, and came back and smoked all night. I went back up Monday with my cook partner another volunteer, and we did 375-400 meals, all for lunch. We came back and went up again on Tuesday… and did almost 300 meals,” said Antonson.
All in all, Antonson and his crew provided warm meals to over 1,200 volunteers, relief workers, and residents — left to pick up the pieces.
“The stories and people coming up,” he recalled. “We had a guy who looked like he’d come out of the wilderness, he walked up to the trailer and he said he hadn’t had a hot meal in three days. We said ‘we’ll get you one.'”
Despite his good deeds, Antonson was struck with his own misfortune Monday night when his truck broke down. He quickly paid for a rental truck, and took his to the shop where it’s currently under repair.
“I still have a business to run… you know, life goes on. We chug along,” Antonson said in good spirits.
Antonson said he left his job in corporate-America in 2021, and he’s thankful he did… as he may have never had this experience, which he described as “humbling.”
“I am so thankful that I was able to do this with the partners I have… that’s what Nebraska strong is,” he said. Antonson saved a special thanks for his wife and kids, who he believes have “gotten used to” his spontaneous nature.
“They know that at a drop of a hat that I would go to the end of the earth to help these folks,” he said.
Antonson says he’s also been humbled by the outpouring of community appreciation for his efforts, and has differed those seeking to support Pork’s Done to relief efforts.
“I have a home to come home to, and some of those folks don’t. They’re going to be rebuilding for months and years,” Antonson reminded.
Twisting his humble arm, all Antonson could muster was “pay it forward.”
“We’re going to be out-and-about in Lincoln for our third season. So when you see the big red food truck, with her big red food trailer, and a pig on the side, come have a meal. Buy the next person in line a cup of coffee or be nice to somebody. That’s the biggest thing, the world needs to be a lot nicer to everybody,” the generous Pork’s Done pit boss concluded.
Pork’s Done updates a schedule of their upcoming events on their website porksdone.com.
Owners of Pork’s Done BBQ Toby Antonson (far left) breaks from cooking food to pose with his crew and an Operation BBQ worker near the impact zone from Arbor Day’s Tornado Outbreak. (Courtesy: Pork’s Done)