(EDITOR'S NOTE: The Young Professionals of the Mon Valley, open to those ages 21 to 42, was created “to attract, retain and develop the next generation of Mon Valley professionals.” This series profiles some of those young professionals.)

Dave Barbe Jr. always believed he would go into business.

The owner of Fourth Street Barbeque in Charleroi is a third-generation business operator.

Barbe began working for his father, Dave Barbe Sr., at Quality Driven Copack as a summer job when he was 15.

That company, located on Route 88 in Charleroi, packaged and processed frozen dinners and sandwiches for retail stores. The elder Barbe sold the business in 2010.

Barbe Jr. went back to the company for two years after earning a degree in integrated marketing from Duquesne University.

His paternal grandparents, Andy and Frances Barbe, owned a Coca-Cola packing firm in the Speers Industrial Park from the 1950s through the 1980s.

An Ontario native, Andy Barbe played five seasons for the Pittsburgh Hornets from 1949 to 1955.

Barbe, 31, said he learned to cook while growing up in Carroll. The family had barbecues at their home each Friday when he was growing up.

When he first opened his business, a lot of people showed him the ins and outs, Barbe said.

“It wasn't easy at first,” Barbe said. “The location is challenging because we're not on the main street. We had to get a liquor license and find reliable help.”

Barbe opened Fourth Street Barbeque in October 2012. He closed the restaurant for six months, beginning in December 2014, to remodel. He reopened in June.

The restaurant has two stories.

The roof of the current restaurant was built with steel to leave open the possibility of expanding to a third floor eventually.

The air-conditioning in the restaurant was enhanced. As he spoke last week, a 12-tap draft system with craft beers was being installed. Barbe said he plans to always carry a local beer.

“I don't want to be another bar,” Barbe said. “I want to be a restaurant with a bar, not a bar with a restaurant.

With the employees of businesses such as Ductmate, Lee Supply, Guttman Oil, the Authority of the Borough of Charleroi, Mon Valley Hospital and Douglas Education Center as regular customers, the restaurant does good business at both lunch and dinner times.

“It depends on the day of the week,” Barbe said. “But at the end of the week, it equals out.”

“We're still in the honeymoon stage.”

Finding good help – Barbe employs eight currently – has been advantageous to growing the business.

“We do way more business now,” Barbe said. “I think that's because we have a bar now and an adjusted menu. We have taco nights on Tuesdays and wing nights on Thursdays.”

His seasonings and recipes were mostly trial and error.

“A lot of it is learning from other people and fine- tuning the recipes,” Barbe said.

He credited Mario Porecca, former chef at the Duquesne Club, with helping him.

They now share seats on the board of the Young Professionals of the Mon Valley.

Barbe is a member of the Young Professionals group and has hosted past meetings at Fourth Street Barbeque.

The Young Professionals is a committee of the Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Open enrollment is available for those 21 to 42 who are “career and community involved.”

The formal mission of the Young Professionals is “to attract, retain and develop the next generation of Mon Valley professionals” through a number of different events.

The group plans to attract through social networking events, retain through community engagements and develop through professional development events.

“The best part of being a member of the Young Professionals is networking, talking to people in my own age group. It's hard to meet people here.”

Barbe said he is career driven and wants to be taken seriously.

“The best and worst thing about owning your own business is knowing at the end of the day, you're responsible for everything,” Barbe said. “You can't let things you can't control bother you.”

Chris Buckley is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at cbuckley@tribweb.com or 724-684-2642.

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