Staff Writer
Vitek’s will thank customers for their support in the Best College Eats battle this Thursday with hundreds of free Gut Paks.
They will have a victory party at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Vitek’s BBQ located at 1600 Speight Ave. There will be free small Gut Paks and live music as a way to say “thank you” to the Baylor and Waco community.
Local acoustic duo Brian and Jeremy will take the stage at 4:30 p.m., followed by singer-songwriter Savion Wright, a Jasper junior, at 7 p.m.
Julie “Vitek” Keith, a fourth-generation owner of Vitek’s BBQ, said that the celebration is one way to show gratitude.
“The victory shows us the support of our customers and the following that the Gut Pak has,” Keith said. “It gives us official bragging rights and I think it gives bragging rights to the customers that come here.”
The Gut Pak beat 31 other original dishes from across the country in the Cooking Channel’s bracket battle that started March 15 and ended April 5.
Keith said that social media likely led to the ultimate win.
“There are Baylor alums and people who moved away from here, and social media let them know to place a vote even though they weren’t here locally,” Keith said.
Since the invention of the Gut Pak in 1983, thousands of people have experienced the concoction of corn chips, cheese, chopped beef, beans, pickles, onions and jalapenos.
Keith said she and the rest of the Vitek’s team feel “highly honored” by the support from the community and restaurant fans.
Due to customer requests, Vitek’s Gut Pak Shak at 3248 Franklin Avenue will start serving breakfast. Keith said this extended menu will be available in June.
Brisket tacos, iron skillet cinnamon rolls, kolaches and coffee will be served from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday.
“The customers are excited about breakfast,” Keith said. “We figured it’s a good way to get people going into downtown for work to stop and grab breakfast with us.”
