MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Cozy Corner Bar-B-Q has been a favorite in Memphis for decades.
Now its owner, Desiree Robinson, is certified famous with a spot in the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame. She said it means the world to her.
“This is so very exciting, and you know at my age, stuff don’t come along like this,” Robinson said of her induction. “I just celebrated my 83rd birthday, and this is a lot, and I thank God.”
Walk inside Cozy Corner Bar-B-Q restaurant on North Parkway, and you are instantly greeted by an aroma that’s intoxicating, and ribs and sandwiches that are legendary.
“I had one yesterday and I had to have another one today,” customer Veronica Bailey said Thursday. “It’s that good.”
Robinson and her late husband Raymond founded the family business back in 1977.
“It’s so important to you know how to treat people, and I don’t believe my husband never met a person who didn’t like him,” Robinson said.
Aside from time patience, slow-cooked meat and sauce, pitmaster Vernon Watson said Robinson is the restaurant’s real secret ingredient.
“She’s a very amazing lady,” Watson said. “She taught me a lot when I first started working here. You know who she is because she has that persona, that, ‘I’m the boss,’ and I like that about her.”
Each year the barbecue hall of fame inducts three new members who’ve impacted the world of barbecue.
Barbecue lovers say this honor for Robinson is well-deserved.
“She’s setting the standard for us women that we can cook barbecue just like you guys. We’re not afraid to fire the grill up,” said Andrea Taylor, a customer from West Memphis.
