About Us
Where it all began...
Rene (Aunt Nay) and I met in the spring of 2005, tied the knot 2007 and have been *mostly* happily married ever since. I put an asterisk next to happily because 49% of the time I'm annoying the shit out of her. It's my love language. We've got 3 kids (21, 16 & 14) who have all been heavily involved in the business since its inception. I always wanted to own a restaurant but we wanted to focus on the kids when they were young so I put that dream on the backburner. Rene bought me a smoker for Christmas in 2012 and I was instantly hooked. I started experimenting and smoking any and everything I could. In the summer of 2018 the company I worked for was being acquired and my future was up in the air. It was at this time that Rene and I really started thinking about starting Uncle Bacon's and in February of 2019 we formed the company. Our plan was to start small and just try to do a handful of events that year. We wanted to test the market to see if there was a demand for our product. We catered our first private party in June, did our first festival in July and spent the rest of the summer serving up the goods on the shores of Portage Lakes at Dietz's Landing. So much for starting small...
Why Uncle Bacon's?
Growing up, our niece Kaylyn would spend summers with us in Ohio. It was during that time I was perfecting my craft and I would always be making sides that included bacon. As such, she innocently started calling me "Uncle Bacon". I've got 9 nieces and 4 nephews (and counting) and they all refer to me as UB (or will once they can start talking). When we decided to create this business, we could think of no better name than Uncle Bacon's BBQ.
What sets us apart.
Our goal is to give you something you've never had before. I don't know about the rest of you, but when I go to a fair/festival I'm looking for things I can't usually find! Bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers, pig shots & BBQ Parfaits to name a couple. Be sure to check the events tab & follow us on social media to see where we'll be next!
What Was Our "A Ha" Moment?
The Muni Lot is my home away from home during the fall. It is THE premiere tailgating spot for my Cleveland Browns. My buddies and I have been season ticket holders for a number of years and I was in charge of the food early on. Bacon wrapped sausage fatties were our breakfast and pig shots were our pre-game snack before making the walk to the stadium. During a tailgate in 2018, a stranger approached me and asked what I was cooking. I showed him the pig shots and he really wanted to try them. I told him we only had enough for our group and then he handed me a $20 bill and insisted that I let him try. The lightbulb went off in my head and it was at the moment I felt we had something.
What's Next?
We've grown a lot in 5 short years. We started serving BBQ out of a canopy tent. The 5 year plan was to purchase a food truck (we bought our truck at the end of year 3). I walked away from my IT career in May of last year to focus 100% on the biz and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. We've partnered with some amazing organizations and worked with some amazing people but we're just getting started. Rene put in the work to get our manufacturing license with the FDA so we can sell our products in retail locations. The list of those locations continues to grow and she's just getting warmed up. She's got aspirations to go national on the manufacturing side and I've got aspirations to have food trucks all over the country. We don't know how far we'll get but we're well on our way!! We're two very driven individuals and there isn't anything that we can't tackle together. UB's to the moon baby!! 🚀🚀🚀