Catering at Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q works differently from every other chain on this site, and the difference is worth understanding before you plan an event around it. There is no published by-the-pound price sheet. Group orders are handled locally, restaurant by restaurant, which means the useful preparation is not comparing packages — it is knowing the per-head numbers well enough to hold the conversation.
Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q prices at a glance
The prices referenced on this page, collected up front. They vary by location and change without notice.
| Approach | What you order | Cost (6 people) | Per head |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual plates | 6 × Pulled Pork Plate | $84.72 | $14.12 |
| Mixed plates and sandwiches | 3 plates + 3 sandwiches | $75.57 | $12.60 |
| Ribs shared | 2 full racks + 4 sides + biscuits | $83.00 | $13.83 |
Why there is no package menu
Most chains of this size run a central commissary and can therefore publish a fixed catering sheet nationally. Jim 'N Nick's does not: each of its roughly 35 restaurants hickory-smokes its own meat and makes its own sausage, sides, biscuits and desserts from scratch. Capacity for a 60-person order depends on that kitchen, that day.
The practical consequence is simple. Call the restaurant rather than trying to order a group meal online. Ask what they can smoke for your date, confirm lead time, and get the total quoted before you commit — do not assume the pricing you see elsewhere in this chain applies to your location.
The per-head math
Because everything is priced as regular menu items, you can cost a group precisely. Here is what six people looks like three ways:
The honest headline: there is no dramatic saving available. At chains that publish by-the-pound pricing, buying bulk meat and sides undercuts individual plates by a wide margin. Here, catering is genuinely just ordering more food. Budget somewhere between $12.60 and $14.12 a head for a straightforward barbecue lunch and you will be close.
How much meat to order
The standard planning rule for any barbecue caterer is one third of a pound of finished meat per adult when you are serving two or more meats, and closer to half a pound with one meat and light sides. That rule and the full portion tables are in the BBQ catering guide, which is the right place to start if you are pricing several chains against each other.
Two Jim 'N Nick's specifics on top of it:
- Ask about the sausage. It is made in house and availability varies by day, so it is the item most likely to fall off a large order.
- Order the biscuits in bulk. At $2.00 an add-on order they cost almost nothing, no other chain has an equivalent, and they are the thing guests will mention afterward.
What travels well and what does not
| Item | Travels | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pulled Pork Plate ($14.12) | Best | Holds heat and moisture better than any other meat here |
| Brunswick Stew ($7.03) | Very well | A stew is built to sit |
| Baked Beans / Creamed Corn ($4.00) | Well | Reheat cleanly |
| Full Rack Baby Back Ribs ($33.00) | Adequate | Fine for 30 minutes, dry after an hour |
| Cheese biscuits ($2.00 per order) | Poorly | Best within minutes of the oven |
| BBQ Nachos ($13.13) | Badly | Chips go soft in transit |
If the drive is longer than about 20 minutes, build the order around pulled pork, smoked sausage and sides, and treat ribs as a here-and-now item rather than a transported one.
Lead time and a realistic checklist
Give a scratch kitchen room. For 10 to 20 people, 48 hours is usually comfortable; for 50 or more, a week is safer, and holiday weeks fill up first. Restaurants are open 11:00 to 21:00 Sunday through Thursday and until 22:00 on Friday and Saturday, so pickup windows are generous — but the smoker schedule, not the dining room, is the constraint.
- Confirm the total in writing, including any service or delivery charge.
- Ask whether they can hold ribs to a later pickup slot, or substitute pulled pork.
- Add one third more sides than you think you need — at $3.50 to $4.00 they are the cheapest way to make a spread look generous.
- Ask about allergen substitutions early; there is a full Jim 'N Nick's allergen guide here.
Everything above is priced from the standard menu, so cross-check totals against the current Jim 'N Nick's menu prices before you call.