Student Spotlight: Big D’s Meats

Dustin Greenwood has fond memories of standing over a smoker in the backyard of his Kansas City home, carefully and thoughtfully preparing barbeque for his friends and family. Cooking barbeque is a frequent pastime for Dustin, who finds joy in cooking for others. "I love making people happy, and people are happiest when eating food," Dustin noted. When he arrived on Tulane University's campus in August of 2023, Dustin had to leave his passion–and smoker–at home. 

A few weeks after his first day on campus, Dustin noticed that every time students returned from going out, they would use delivery services like Doordash and Uber Eats to satisfy their cravings, spending an absurd amount of money for a college student almost every night. The lack of late-night options for students was a problem to Dustin, so he looked for a solution. Combining his passion for cooking for people and his entrepreneurial drive, Dustin launched Big D's Meats, a pop-up smash burger business that quickly became a Tulane favorite. 

Dustin’s menu consists of smash burgers (which students can order as a single, double, or triple), bacon-wrapped hot dogs, grilled cheeses, and occasionally a challah french toast sandwich. He purchased a Blackstone grill to cook on and started by getting his ingredients daily from Rouse's on Freret Street, but now sources most of his ingredients from local vendors. Dustin's bread for his grilled cheese comes from Gracious Bakery, a nearby bakery owned by Tulane alum Jay Foreman and his wife Megan. Dustin uses high-quality 100% grass-fed beef from Capital Farms in Arizona, one of the most notable grass-fed ranchers in the country. 

For making burgers, hot dogs, and grilled cheeses, Dustin keeps his food relatively healthy by not using seed oils to cook his food, unlike most fast food places. Instead, Dustin uses beef tallow to cook his meat and butter for his bread. Although beef tallow and canola oil have similar calorie counts, beef tallow does not lead to the same long-term health effects that seed oils do. Also, according to Dustin, cooking in beef tallow adds more flavor than seed oils. Dustin’s passion for providing healthy food is appreciated by his loyal customers. 

Big D's Meats started in October of Dustin's freshman year, initially selling his meat outside Butler Hall, one of Tulane's freshman dorms. For three months, Dustin served students nightly, often forming big crowds and long lines. Everyone quickly became familiar with Big D's Meats and it was the talk of campus for a very long time. However, shortly before winter break in December, Dustin was told that it was against university policy to run his business on campus by the director of the residence hall. Despite his best efforts to protect his business, he had to close up shop. After winter break, Dustin tried a few more times to run Big D's Meats, until the Tulane University Police Department became involved. Dustin decided to put his operations on hold for the remainder of his freshman year. 

An early pop-up event for Big D’s Meats outside Butler Hall.

The Tulane student body was shocked and upset when they heard that Big D's Meats would not be returning. Many had begun to associate the perfect end to a night out with a Big D smash burger. Some students even rallied for Dustin on social media, and after seeing this inspiring reaction from his loyal fans, Dustin decided to find a way to bring Big D’s Meats back to the Tulane community. 

Dustin spent the summer obtaining the correct licenses, sourcing reliable suppliers, and trying to find a place to run Big D's Meats. During his real estate internship last summer, Dustin met the brother of his real estate mentor, who offered him free use of a vacant restaurant on Freret Street. Dustin would be able to run his restaurant in that space for free until the landlord found a paying tenant. 

This felt like a blessing to Dustin since it had always been his dream to open a restaurant. Initially, he wasn't sure how he was going to balance running a restaurant and school, but he called upon his roommate, Oli Katz, to be an employee. Along with Thomas Rigby, a friend of Dustin's who helped him pick the name Big D's Meats, and his constantly supportive mother Sara Greenwood, Oli has been one of the three influential people who have helped Dustin during his journey. 

Dustin (right) and Oli catering for an event at The Rabbit Hole.

Unfortunately, the restaurant never fully took off, but Dustin was able to keep all of his equipment in the space. Big D's Meats quickly became a popular catering option for off-campus events students were organizing. Dustin's catering debut was at the Dune Music Festival in September, which was organized by another Tulane student. Dustin set up shop near the entrance gate to the festival and served nearly 200 people attending the event. He also provided food for an event at the Rabbit Hole and has catered for different social fraternities on campus. According to Dustin, he has been in conversation with the school about potentially working at some school-run events. 

The hardest part about being a young entrepreneur for Dustin is balancing work and school. With a demanding workload from his business school classes, Dustin admits that it is very easy to lose focus on his business. However, since it is his passion, Dustin ensures that he focuses on Big D’s Meats as much as he can while also being a full-time student. With rising costs for food, transportation, and employee wages, Dustin is constantly juggling financial pressures. However, he's found creative ways to cut costs, such as negotiating a favorable deal with his beef supplier and storing his equipment for free in the vacant restaurant space. 

Although he will have to leave his current restaurant space by the end of the month, Dustin still has plans for Big D's Meats. Dustin is now primarily focused on growing his business. He has a presence on social media platforms such as Instagram and Fizz where he advertises his pop-up events. Dustin also developed the Big D's Meats website which he uses to further promote his business. Dustin's long-term goal is to open his own restaurant one day, but for now, he is focused on catering more events, growing his business, and satisfying the hunger of Tulane students for years to come. 

Dustin's advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is: "If you have an idea, pursue it. Don't wait".  For many young entrepreneurs, the fear of failure and uncertainty can lead to hesitation, but Dustin emphasizes the best time to start is now. Dustin applied this philosophy to his business, which is why he has found so much success in Big D’s Meats. His story serves as a testament to the importance of taking that first step, no matter how daunting it may feel.

Dustin’s Instagram and website are linked below.