About Us
Pit 105 may be new, but our barbecue has a few years of history in Williston. We [Caleb and Micki Hinricksen] have roots in the Williston area for generations on all sides of the family. After almost 12 years as a crane operator in the oilfield, Caleb turned his passion for food into his livelihood and started Pita Palace with his business partner, Kyle. Jump forward to 2013 when Caleb met Harry working a barbecue food truck. Since one venture at a time isn’t enough, a random series of events paired the two up and Mississippi BBQ was founded in 2014. They operated out of two small locations until once again coming upon the original food truck and making their mark on the catering scene. 1st place in the People’s Choice category at the Shamrockin’ the Bakken event and a 2nd Place finish in the annual Ribfest only fueled the fires to fine tune the art of the pit master. Unfortunately, life had other plans for Harry and our short, but unforgettable time together came to an end in 2018.
As one door closed, another soon opened. A bit of rural North Dakota/Montana networking and years of friendships brought about an opportunity to join in the Busted Knuckle Brewery’s adventures in Williston. BBQ + Brews = Match made in Heaven. The desire to give our customers an experience that will keep them coming back has prompted the decision to pass on the Pita Palace torch to Kyle. Nine challenging but successful years after opening Pita Palace, Caleb is diving headfirst back into the flames of BBQ.
The Name: Pit of course came from pits dug in the earth where meat and vegetables were buried with smoldering embers for hours or days to complete the cooking process. Not how we are doing it today but a major part of barbecue history. 105 came from a very different source having nothing to do with BBQ. The building occupied by Busted Knuckle Brewery and Pit 105 was previously owned by Williams County and used as a shop. As a nod to being a locally owned business and the building having ties to Williams County, the FIPS code (Federal Information Processing Standard codes used to identify geographical locations: Code 38 – North Dakota, Code 105 – Williams County) 105 paired with Pit had a nice ring to it.
Slow and low with hickory wood is the smoking process we prefer when it comes to the qualities we have come to love in our food. Our menu is built on simple and traditional dishes that are the very foundation of barbecue style cooking, however, the creative minds have added irresistible twists to a number of plates to keep you on your toes. Tender, moist, and flavorful should be expected when you visit Pit 105.