Kent Olson/MDN Manager Dave Reynolds, left, and Jonah “Bones” Lundeen, outside the new restaurant Bones BBQ Smokehouse & Grill, which opened Sept. 18 at 1412 2nd Avenue SW.

People are coming to Bones BBQ Smokehouse & Grill, the new restaurant located at 1412 2nd Avenue SW, north of Classic Rock Coffee. That much is for sure.

But are they coming for the signature sauce, the ribs, the brisket, the burgers, soups or desserts?

If you ask manager Dave Reynolds you might get another answer, or at least a clue. It’s all fresh. That’s what customers long to taste again.

“It’s fantastic,” Reynolds said of the comments customers are making about Bones. “We’re doing stuff that other people around town don’t do. We’re fresh. Everything here starts fresh. We’re smokin’ our own meats fresh every day. We’re baking our own breads. We’re making our own soup, our own desserts. We make our own sides. We’re trying to bring back that tradition. Fresh-tasting product that you don’t get around town anymore.”

Which is exactly what owner Jerome Lundeen was shooting for when he opened Bones with his son, Jonah “Bones” Lundeen.

“I’ve always wanted to do a restaurant since I was a kid,” said the senior Lundeen, who has started several other successful businesses in Minot.

Bones began a couple of years ago as a catering business and also a source of heat-and-serve ribs that customers pick up and take home. The smoking and other prep work was done out of Lundeen’s home, which will still be used as a backup prep site for the ongoing catering business.

Customers can call the restaurant at 838-9140 to inquire about catering. Heat-and-serve items including ribs are also available at the restaurant.

As for Bones the restaurant, the dining room seats 68 people and the bar seats 10. It is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Plans are being made to also be open from noon to 5 or 6 p.m. on Sunday, perhaps beginning in October.

As with the catering business, Lundeen comes up with all of the recipes on the menu and tests and retests them until he’s happy with the results. Still, he’s forever asking others what they like or don’t like about a recipe.

Lundeen, who has cooked all his life and finally opened that restaurant he’s always wanted, wants people to know two things about Bones.

“We’re pretty diversified. Sandwiches, hamburgers, salads and ribs – It’s not just barbecue,” he said.

For instance, bread pudding tops the dessert menu.

“It’s pretty good,” Lundeen offered matter-of-factly.

But he also wants customers to know Bones for what it is and is not.

“This is not a franchise. This is local.”

And fresh.