Salivating barbecue smoke puffs year-round from a four-foot-long grill outside Butler Market Store South.

If drivers on Highway 97 weren’t roaring by so fast, windows sealed tight, they might catch a passing whiff.

They might be inexplicably drawn to hit the turn signal. Inside the Bend convenience store is a small deli that’s relatively unknown, considering it’s been around for 12 years.

The Country Catering Com-pany isn’t much – a counter, a display case, a couple of booths, a couple of tables. But it serves the kind of stick-to-your-ribs grub that oozes with Americana goodness.

Sandwiches heaping with barbecue tri-tip beef, chicken or pork. Breakfast burritos filled with eggs, ham, potatoes and cheese. Corned-beef Reubens and French dips.

It’s the kind of food eatery owner Frank Serbus has been making all his life.

”It’s the only thing I’ve ever done,” he said.

Serbus worked for 18 years in his father’s combination deli-meat market-catering company in Santa Barbara, Calif. Then, he decided to move to Bend.

He opened The Country Catering Company in Butler Market South on Highway 97 in south Bend. It’s been there ever since.

While Serbus does a lot of catering, the deli is also a key component of the business.

To that end, the grill is going outside the store every day. The salads, ranging from red rose potato to curry chicken, are homemade.

Portions are generous. Sandwiches come with the diner’s choice of a side from the deli case.

Serbus said the business has always had its share of regulars, including a dozen or so that stop in daily.

People grab their chow to go throughout the day. They also drop by closer to the dinner hour to grab raw, marinated ribs and roasts to cook at home. Also popular is the homemade sausage, available in sweet Italian, hot Italian, bratwurst, Polish and breakfast.

Serbus said he strives to offer good eats at good prices.

Heidi Hagemeier can be reached at 541-383-0353 or hhagemeier@bendbulletin.com.