Underdog BBQ, a Millcreek Township business that was launched by the Discovery television show "Undercover Billionaire," is moving to a new location.

The restaurant, located since 2019 at 3040 West Lake Road, has purchased the former Perkins restaurant at 2714 W. Eighth St.

The Perkins location has been closed since September of 2019.

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Underdog BBQ grew from the efforts of businessman Glenn Stearns, who arrived in Erie in 2019, camera crew in tow, with a cell phone, a beat-up pickup truck and $100 in his pocket.

As part of a reality television show, his mission was to turn that $100 into a successful business by trading on what he had learned after years in business and by leaning on the help of people he met in Erie.

In 2021, when Stearns returned to Erie to film "Undercover Billionaire: Comeback City," Ashley Messenger, who was general manager of Underdog BBQ at the time, said Stearns surprised her by offering to sell her the business for $100, the same amount he had in his pocket when he arrived in Erie.

Messenger, who took Stearns up on that offer, said Underdog management had been thinking about moving into a larger building that could be customized for the restaurant's needs. Messenger said she had considered a number of other locations, including the former Hoss's Steak & Sea House at 3302 W. 26th St.

That process was accelerated this summer when she was unable to come to terms with the owner of the West Lake Road location to extend their lease for another year.

More:Adaptability, not 'Undercover Billionaire' money, kept Erie's Underdog BBQ alive

Messenger, who has agreed to pay $385,000 to purchase the restaurant building from Arizona-based Storemaster Funding, said she had hoped to continue operating from the old location until renovations could be made to the Perkins building. The sale of the property is expected to be finalized Wednesday.

"Honestly, it needs a lot of work. It needs a lot of love," she said of the 4,700-square-foot building that was built in 1973. "It's not turnkey."

Messenger said she's not sure yet what parts of the restaurant will need to be repaired. She does know that eventually, a bar will need to be added.

"We need to get a new roof," she said. "It was leaking before they even closed. We are at this point not entirely sure what we need to do, but it does have really good bones."

Messenger, who has a staff of around 20, about half of them full-time, said the new larger location will provide more room for catering and to oversee operations for a planned expansion into franchising.

Messenger, who expects to take out a loan to cover renovation costs, said the work could take up to a year to complete.

She's hoping, however, to be open for outdoor dining within a week or two.

More:Millcreek Perkins closes its doors

"We still need to get our health department approval," she said. For now, the needs of outdoor diners will be served by the Underdog BBQ food truck, which will serve an abbreviated menu.

That menu will focus on smoked meats with the possible addition of smoked baked potatoes, smoked macaroni and cheese, and a couple of cold side dishes.

A graduate of the culinary program at Mercyhurst University, Messenger said she's excited to be the owner of a restaurant at the age of 30.

But there have been plenty of challenges along the way, she said.

"COVID definitely threw a couple a couple of punches, but we have come out on top for the most part," she said. "It's not easy. We have had days where we don't make any money."

Messenger said she embraced what Stearns represented on the television show and the notion of approaching business as an underdog.

"I feel like we all have the underdog (spirit) inside us," she said. "We have all endured our own struggles in ways that other people might not understand. We have had someone in our lives tell us we weren't good or told us we couldn't do something."

Messenger said she's well aware that plenty of businesses, not just restaurants, have failed since the pandemic began.

And while buying the former Perkins building represents a high-water mark for Underdog, Messenger said plenty of challenges remain.

"(Success) isn't linear," she said. "It's not always going to be up. It's a lot of peaks and valleys, but you are always trying to rise up."

Jim Martin can be reached at jmartin@timesnews.com.