Barbecue buffet in Oakdale? Caterers play with ideas for new restaurant
It’s been eight months since two longtime Modesto chefs opened a barbecue trailer on McHenry Avenue. Now, the pair are on to bigger things.
Jesse Padilla and Matt Martin launched Craft BBQ & Catering Co. in late 2024, expanded with a food trailer in June 2025 and are now adding “restaurant owners” to their joint resume.
A couple of months after they opened the trailer, the demand for Padilla and Martin’s catering services — namely with area medical facilities — became so high they had to stop its operations.
Their comeback to serving the general public by way of a brick-and-mortar restaurant is a statement: They mean business. And lots of it, because they’re reopening their trailer, too.
Craft barbecue restaurant opening in Oakdale
Padilla and Martin’s original plan was to open a restaurant in the building they parked their trailer behind — a former Valley Meal Prep at 3008 McHenry Ave. They had to pivot when the owner of the building died and his children decided to sell.
“We found our spot, luckily, in Oakdale recently and we just jumped on it because it’s perfect,” Martin said. “There’s always so much traffic coming in and out off of that highway, we just know it’s going to be busy.”
The unit, at 1023 E. F St., was last occupied in 2017 by Grand Buffet, an all-you-can-eat sushi and Chinese food spot. The left-behind buffet equipment may see use when Craft BBQ & Catering Co. opens late summer.
“We will have barbecue and maybe an all-you-can-eat salad during the week, and then we’re thinking about doing an all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet on Sundays,” Padilla said. “Hopefully, it goes well and we can continue doing that for when churches get out, football season, all of that.”
The menu will include what was offered at the Craft BBQ trailer, plus additions since they’ll have a full kitchen to work from.
Craft BBQ & Catering Co. trailer reopening
Until the unit is sold, the Craft BBQ trailer will stay where it was on McHenry Avenue when it reopens in March and still will have outside seating. Padilla and Martin don’t anticipate having to move it before their restaurant opens.
The pair will close the trailer again briefly to establish the restaurant when it opens later in the year.
“We’ll try and open it back up in Modesto again so we can let both cities still have our product,” Martin said.
Follow Craft BBQ & Catering Co. on Instagram or Facebook for updates on when the trailer will reopen.
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