James E. Emig

Paul Young Funeral Home is assisting the Family

Obituary via Paul Young Funeral Home

The passion flames that burned bright for years at Jim E. Emig’s famous, wood-fired barbeque restaurant – “Jim Dandy’s Family BBQ” – were first ignited in him as a state tournament wrestling star from the former Greenhills High School in Hamilton County. Emig was a heavy weight state qualifier in 1975, who later went on to coach wrestling at Finnytown and St. Xavier high schools and was also Ohio tournament manager for Cincinnati Division I sectionals and a long-time volunteer at the state’s annual wrestling tournament in Columbus.

And for decades a column he penned in 1993 – entitled “Every Wrestler’s Last Match” – was included in the state tournament’s program and also shared among high school wrestling fans around the nation.

The 68-year-old Emig died Sunday Sept. 21 at his Springfield Twp. home surrounded by his loving family and visited in his final days by dozens of friends.

Emig later applied his all-in approach of wrestling to his dream of owning a barbeque restaurant.

For decades, the high-energy founder of Jim Dandy’s Family BBQ was southwest Ohio’s most famed barbeque expert with numerous TV appearances, newspaper and magazine stories during the years he ran his popular, mountain cabin styled restaurant in Sharonville until it closed in 2020.

His first barbeque stand in 2001 was a pop-up tent on Winton Road in his home neighborhood of Finneytown.

Emig’s famed, wood-smoked ribs, chicken and brisket earned him numerous regional and Midwest culinary awards and his delicious fare was always served along with generous helpings of his quick-witted goodwill and his strong Christian faith.

And it was his faith that burned most brightly within and showed brilliant through his restaurant’s decorations and inspirational road signage that urged customers and passer byes along Sharon Road to put Jesus first and to love America as much as he did.

“First off Jim was about faith in God,” said his wife Karin of 38 years who often shared long shifts with Emig during the BBQ eatery’s daily operations.

“He loved people and he loved country. Helping people brought him such joy and he didn’t know a stranger,” said Karin. “People brought him joy.”

“Jim is unforgettable,” she said.

Blessed with two boys –Samuel and Joshua, both of whom also excelled in wrestling – Emig’s love for his family was an unwavering flame.

His love started and extended from his own family. His father, Robert Emig and mother Audrey (nee Bell) for decades owned the Fountain Head Tavern in Finneytown, which was a community gathering place that saw Emig and his siblings all working and helping out there.

Years later his beloved wife and their two boys – along with his grandchildren and siblings – all came to know the warmth of Emig’s heart-shaped world.

And when it came to his Chrisitan faith, Emig walked the walk.

If he spotted a trouble-faced customer, they were also served up with a caring, faith-based counseling session as Emig regularly would step from behind the counter and take a seat next to them at a table to inquire how he could help.

Early on, oldest son Samuel saw his father’s sincere concerns for others in action.

“He had the ultimate servant’s heart. As a little kid, he had us raking leaves for elderly people and mowing grass for everybody in the community. And to him, the community was everyone,” said Samuel.

“Something my dad was just an expert at was if you were in Jim Dandy’s and eating alone, he would just pull up a chair and get to know you.”

Son Joshua recalled his father being “a very passionate guy.”

“He was loved by many and had a lot of great friends in his life. He was very involved in Ohio high school wrestling. That was one of his passions,” said Joshua.

Sister Jennifer Nies described her brother as “very kind with a lot of humor.

“He was a very generous and very caring man. And he was a great cook and loved by so many people.”

One of Emig’s more high-profile acts of care was his generous help in the wake of horrific shooting at Cosmic Pizza in Cincinnati’s Hartwell neighborhood that left the owner dead. Emig scrambled to raise funds to help the owner’s widow and her young family through their loss.

Emig was honored with a “Guardian Angel” award from Cincinnati Police for his assistance to the restaurant owner’s widow and her children.

Anyone asking Emig about his many volunteer and philanthropic works would be modestly redirected to a self-reflective “I wish I could have done more.”

Brother Bobby Emig said Jim learned that from their tavern-owning father, whom he described as “being all about hospitality.”

“Jim was identical to our dad,” said Bobby. “My dad loved feeding people and giving them things and just communicating with them. Jim loved to walk around in the restaurant and just hang with the customers.”

“He was an absolute servant to people.”

Sibling Ran said “Jim along with his siblings loved the family farm. He reminisced fondly about the family picnics, campouts, and summers spent on the farm. So many wonderful memories.”

“He was thrilled that his two younger brothers were finally building on the farm. We are so grateful he was able to visit and enjoy it with us,” said Ran.

And Emig’s sister Jennifer recalled how “he was very generous and always caring.”

“He treated my children well and always loved them and he always wanted me to be involved in the church. And he had a lot of humor and he was loved by many. My goodness, everyone loved him and he had a knack for cooking,” said Jennifer.

An Agronomy degree graduate from Ohio State University, Emig loved to recount a long, life-changing conversation he had in the late 1970s with famed Buckeye Head Football Coach

Woody Hayes, who suddenly sat next to him while Emig was in the stands watching an Ohio State track meet.

Hayes, who loved and taught history at the university, chatted with him for more than an hour, regaling the young student on the historical origins and significance of various track competitions going back to the Greek and Roman civilizations.

The coach, who by the time they met on campus in the late 1970s had retired from the school, peppered his talk with Emig with life lessons and advice which all proved even more valuable when soon after, Emig’s father Robert died unexpectedly forcing Emig to drop out of Ohio State to run the family business for a year.

Emig loved to tell his Woody Hayes story, especially how when he returned later to Ohio State, he crossed paths with Hayes during a campus walk and despite the long time passed, how the coach called him by name and asked how he was doing?

“Coach Hayes changed my life with that one talk. I loved that man,” Emig would often tell family and friends.

After graduating from Ohio State, Emig worked for years with Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati before leaving to pursue his dreams of opening a barbeque restaurant.

Initially, his tiny roadside BBQ tent in Finneytown grew into a full-sized, food-truck trailer in Sharonville and later in 2010, his own, custom-built restaurant near the Sharon Road and Interstate 75 interchange.

Among his many customers were local celebrities, athletes active and retired from the Cincinnati Bengals and Reds, as well as many diners who traveled from throughout the region for a taste of his award-winning menu.

Emig converted an old ambulance into a mini-food truck with “Emergency BBQ Rescue Team” painted on its sides and he also owned a larger food trailer that was a regular feature at food rallies in southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky.

A church leader and coordinator of Men’s Prayer groups, Emig regularly held early morning Bible study at his restaurant for men of all ages prior to opening.

These sessions would commence only after he first loaded up his giant, wood-fired smokers in front of Jim Dandy’s BBQ as part of his culinary code of never cooking with gas burners but only with specially delivered cherry wood, a practice befitting of a true “BBQ Pit Master.”

“Spiced and smoked. Not boiled and soaked,” read his smiling, pig-shaped sign out front.

And while other area restaurateurs exclusively used their roadside signage to pitch their menus or specials, Emig would often post his own themes that spoke from his heart.

“The tomb is empty … he is risen” was a regularly signage around the Easter holiday.

“Proud to be an American”

“God bless our veterans”

Every November prior to “The Game” between his alma mater Ohio State and “that team up north,” the sign would read: “Go Bucks! Beat Michigan!”

And on the side of his restaurant was one of his favorite mottos: “Work Hard. Play Harder. Count Your Blessings. Eat Jim Dandy BBQ. Love God, Friends and Others Madly.”

Emig is survived by his wife Karin (nee Clark); sister Jennifer (Raymond, Moores Hill, Indiana); brother Ran (Debbie, Moores Hill); brother Bobby (Karen, Springfield Twp.) sons Samuel (Emily, Columbus); Joshua (Kaitlyn, Fort Thomas, Kentucky) and was preceded in death by his brother John and parents Robert and Audrey Emig. Emig is also survived by five grandchildren: From Joshua and Kaitlyn, their children Calvin, Graham and Luke. From Samuel and Emily, their children Porter and Ruby.

Visitation is 4 to 6:15 p.m. Sunday Sept. 28 at the 605 Grace Evangelical Free Church, Meadowcrest Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45231 with funeral services to follow at 6:15 p.m. Burial service Monday is private for family only. Memorials should go to: Life Forward, Pregnancy Care of Cincinnati.