Ricky D’s Pitch: Ribs & Beer

Do ribs and beer sound like a good combination to you?

Ricky Evans, owner of Ricky D’s Rib Shack on Winchester Avenue in Science Park, is betting that it does. So he applied for a special permit from the City Plan Commission to allow his restaurant to serve certain alcoholic beverages.

At the Commission’s monthly meeting in City Hall on Wednesday, Evans came one step closer to realizing his goal, as the commissioners approved the special permit.

Evans described this as ​“just the first step” towards actually being able to serve his customers beer and wine. He still needs to obtain a liquor license form the state.

Ricky D’s, located at 302 Winchester, has been open for two and a half years. He began selling his barbecue from a food truck five years ago. Evans said that he ​“looks at getting a liquor license as a way to add to and grow the business” at the Winchester storefront, which has increased its sales each year.

“Beer complements barbecue well,” he said, and his customers have been asking for the combination. Evans said he plans to serve locally produced craft beer.

Starting on Super Bowl Sunday, the restaurant will also be open seven days a week; previously it had only been open Monday through Saturday. Ricky D’s has also recently added sauteed okra and spinach to the menu. Evans said that at some point in the future he might add televisions to liven up the restaurant, which seats 32.

Evans had to apply to the City Plan Commission to get permission to serve liquor because Ricky D’s is located in a Planned Development District, which is subject to additional zoning ordinances.

The commission approved the application unanimously. ​“Your business has added a lot to the area,” Commissioner Leslie Radcliffe told Evans at the meeting. ​“You’ve found a way to bring the Yale community and the local community together” because everyone can ​“find common ground at Ricky D’s.”

Evans has also joined other New Haven entrepreneurs in pushing the state legislature to legalize recreational use of marijuana. He has developed CBD-infused barbecue sauce with hopes of becoming the ​“Heinz ketchup of the cannabis industry.”