We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shawn Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Shawn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

We had been cooking barbecue for friends and family for quite some time so when we got our first stimulus check during the pandemic we used it to cook for our neighborhood and gave it away through our Instagram. We had no idea how far this would eventually take us.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

We cook central Texas style barbecue with a lot of Mexican influences from my wife’s family. What sets us apart from others is our dedication to the craft of barbecue cooking only with live fire and taking no short cuts. We love what we do and try to have that passion come through our food and service.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

My wife/business partner both worked regular day jobs prior to May/June 2022. We’ve only been at this full time less than a year.

It was just a grind. For me personally I would work 12-16 hours a day trucking Monday through Wednesday. Shop Thursday. Cook Friday. Serve Saturday. Reset Sunday and do it all again.

The key milestone was us both finally quitting our day jobs and relying on our food to support ourselves..

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We don’t just try to replicate central Texas barbecue here in Chicago. We try to bring the entire experience home. The food is always number one but we strive to provide great service as well. We want everyone to experience Texas hospitality. The entire process is important to us from start to finish..

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @therealhefferbbq
• Facebook: Heffer BBQ

Image Credits
@shotbyjenny @goatboyintl