Summer is in full swing, and that means pool parties and lots of barbecuing. Market research shows the latter has notably increased in popularity over the last few years. In fact, 80% of U.S. homeowners own at least one grill or smoker and the market is expected to nearly double by 2030. From pit pioneers to new school innovators, these five small businesses are manufacturing barbecues for both the seasoned pro and the block party king.
Ole Hickory Pits
In 1974, David B. Knight purchased a pre-Civil War building in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He opened the barbecue restaurant Port Cape and designed a one-of-a-kind brick fire pit using the structure of the building, a three-story flue, and a manual damper system. It wasn’t until it caused three fires in a week that Knight decided it might be time to invent a safer way to barbecue.
Identifying that the biggest hazard in barbecuing were flare-ups caused by fat drippings, Knight created a smoker oven that insulated the meat from the open flame. This became his new cooking apparatus at the restaurant, and he learned that other restaurateurs were in need of the same solution. After simultaneously running Port Cape and scaling his state-of-the-art smoker business, he opted to sell the restaurant and focus on Ole Hickory Pits full time.
Building mainly commercial-sized smokers, the company’s primary customers are restaurants, cafeterias, and cruise ships. However, there is a line of residential pits available for backyard cookouts as well.
recteq
Ray Carnes and Ron Cundy were roommates in the early ‘90s and spent a lot of time grilling. In 2009, Carnes presented the idea of going into business together to make high-quality barbecue grills. Formerly REC TEC Grills, recteq is known for its wood-fired grills and signature micro-polished bull horn handles.
The recteq mission is to make the best wood pellet grills on the market. “My goals were simple,” said Carnes. “I wanted to bring back old school customer service and I wanted the grill to be built like a tank.” Incorporating technology, these grills are also equipped with WiFi, providing remote monitoring through an accompanying app.
Based in Evans, Georgia, recteq is very connected to the local community. The business has opened its headquarters up to the public, allowing folks to have events on site. It also hosts academies that draw in curious and ambitious grillers from all over the country, which in turn stimulates the local economy.
Hooray Grill Co. has a few different designs to choose from: Lodge Series grills, Ranch Series grills, or the Hurtado Smokebox.
Cookshack
It was the mid ‘70s and Gene Ellis was experimenting with different ways to smoke some of his favorite foods in his backyard. He tried a charcoal grill and a stone fireplace before and finally landing on welded metal boxes, which became the first prototype for Cookshack.
Ellis started out making larger-sized smokers for restaurants; however, customer demand had him add residential units alongside his commercial lineup. The industrial equipment includes pellet fire or electric smokers, charbroilers, and pizza ovens. The consumer options include digital smoker ovens, pellet grill/smoker combos, and smaller pizza ovens. The line of sauces and rubs sold by the company are the original recipes developed by Gene and his wife Judy.
Some 50 years later, this small business remains under the care of the Ellis children and the current CEO, Stuart Powell. The Cookshack factory is located in Ponca City, Oklahoma.
Hooray Grill Co.
Avid hosts and entertainers to family and friends, Eric and Wendy Dunn discovered the Santa Maria style of grilling, an open-fire cookout method that dates back to the 1800s, and sought to make it their own. The Dunns built their first grill prototype in 2008 for the modern barbecuer. Hooray Grill Co. celebrates gathering together, cooking big meals, and creating the best life.
Named after California’s Santa Maria Valley, the Santa Maria style of roasting was widely used by cowboys after cattle drives. Although 19th century cooks used the land as their barbecue pit and tree branches to fuel the fire and skewer the meat, this methodology has since been adapted to use welded steel and iron structures.
Hooray Grill Co. has a few different designs to choose from: Lodge Series grills, Ranch Series grills, or the Hurtado Smokebox. The Lodge and Ranch Series grills each come in two different sizes and can be purchased on wheels or as built-in additions to any outdoor kitchen. The Hurtado Smokebox is a co-branded grill with Texas Pitmaster Brandon Hurtado. Built with heat deflectors, this smokebox serves as a conventional smoker, open-fire or closed-lid grill, and a rotisserie cooker.
M&M BBQ Company
Mike Miller Sr. was the sole repairman for J&R Manufacturing before using his expertise to start his own smoker repair company in the early 2000s. After earning a degree in marketing, Mike’s son, Mike Miller Jr., decided to work for his dad at M&M BBQ Company. Miller Jr. took note of the most common repairs needed in the field and wanted to address those problems and build machines that would require as little maintenance as possible. He called on his friend and experienced Fabricator Matt Sutton to help bring his barbecue designs to life. Thus began M&M’s transition from smoker repair business to custom rotisserie and offset barbecue pit manufacturer.
The team built their first wood-burning rotisserie smoker in 2015. Today, M&M’s thousand-gallon offsets can be found at restaurants like Hurtado Barbecue in Arlington and Hutchins BBQ in McKinney. In addition to their commercial-sized products, M&M has also rolled out more grills and pits suitable for backyard cooking. Due to demand and the level of production that goes into making each of these machines, lead time is anywhere from five to 14 months.
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