It was opening day in the summer of 2016 when our third and fourth sons were playing Pop Warner football. The league was selling food vendor spots for $100. I told the league president that if she gave me a spot, I would donate our proceeds for the day. The menu for the day was pulled pork and brisket sandwiches accompanied by Grandma Millie's potato salad and Cousin Tommy's Pit Beans. I must admit I didn't think we were going to do very well being put in between vendors selling $3 burgers on my left and $2 tacos on my right. Even at a discount, BBQ is still a higher cost item. But as the day progressed, we noticed our line kept growing, and people kept coming back to ask for cards (which obviously we did not have). At the end of the day, we sold out and raised well over $100 for the league.

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Our daughter and eldest son, after noticing the repeated request for business cards and being self-taught entrepreneurs themselves, began encouraging me to start a business. Now I will admit, I have always enjoyed cooking for people and had already cooked for crowds of 70-100 either at home or during fundraising events, but to do so while working full time and being heavily involved with youth, I thought there was absolutely no way I could start a business. But over the course of a year, there was a persistent tugging at my heart that would not go away (still to this day). So I told my kids, why not! We could do small events for fun and cater to friends and family.

 

But what about a name? Gotta have a name, right? As I thought about the name, I thought more about what I would like us to be known as. Things like faithfulness, dependability, and honesty should stand out. These were traits I learned in the United States Marine Corps and also from my Father above. These traits are also a big part of our business motto, which I will share below. As I reminisced about my time in the Marines, I recalled the nickname my fellow Marines jokingly gave me, Magilla. Yes, like the gorilla. Apparently, we had similar dance moves lol. So I shared the idea with our kids, and one year later, Magilla's BBQ was launched, and we sold our first brisket! 

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Now about our Motto, "It's not the smoke, It's not the rub, It's Everything Done Right!" What exactly does that mean? Well it's a combination of two things. The first is about a moment I had when I cooked my first brisket that was fit for human consumption. Yes, I went through some pretty bad briskets before that one. But when I realized it wasn't just the wood or the seasonings, it was literally everything little thing done right that made that first brisket so good. It really was an "A-ha" moment for me and the birth of our motto. The second part of our motto came as we began serving our food to folks. "Everything Done Right" became more than just cooking food well. It applied to how we treat customers and the service we provide to them. It truly is a goal we continue to strive for as we continually seek to improve all we do.

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Since that first brisket we've catered for events with guest ranging from 40 to 400 including weddings, festivals, and company lunches. We've even catered a few celebs.

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All that from helping at an opening day!

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God is good!