Beer Daddy BBQ a smoking success after expansion
Corey Richard never dreamed his love for southern barbecue would lead him down the successful entrepreneurial path he’s on today.
“I never ever thought I would make a business out of it,” said the co-owner of Beer Daddy BBQ in Hampton. “There might have been a tiny aspiration at some point... but when I first started to learn how to do this food, it was never a thought in my mind.”
It was love at first taste when Corey tried authentic southern barbecue for the first time while on a work trip to Tennessee around 2017.
“I just fell in love with it and was inspired to learn how to do it myself.”
Once he got the hang of low and slow cooking – cooking meat slowly at a low temperature – Corey started feeding barbecue to friends and family, and having success at barbecue competitions.
When Corey was laid off from his job of 17-years in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, people who knew about his passion for barbecue encouraged him to start a business.
“I thought they were crazy. I figured out how to do low and slow barbecue and I had a passion for it, but I had no idea how to run a business and to this day, I’m still figuring it out.”
He didn’t seriously consider becoming a business owner until his brother-in-law, the owner of Gridiron Brewing, suggested Corey open a food truck and park it in the brewery’s parking lot.
After a conversation with his wife Cailin - who was enthusiastic about the food truck idea and is the business’ co-owner and a crucial part of Beer Daddy BBQ's success - the couple got to work.
The food truck opened in August 2021. Though it had some customers, by November the weather was too cold for the truck to operate properly.
Then a tenant inside the brewery building gave up their lease and Corey was given the opportunity to open a brick-and-mortar location. He knew it was the right step for his business but wasn’t sure how he would pay for it.
He reached out to his local CBDC for a business loan to help with the cost of renovating the space.
“It was a huge help,” Corey said. “I wouldn’t have gotten this up and off the ground without the help of the CBDC.”
The new space was a turning point. With the help of some social media marketing, Corey said customers started flooding in.
“The eighth weekend we were open, we realized we’d outgrown this space already,” he said.
Customers were lined up out the door and couldn’t find a place to sit and eat.
Beer Daddy BBQ continues to see that type of traffic - from both locals and visitors from around the world - most days throughout the summer months, Corey said. They often sell out of food before closing time.
With the continued success the business has seen, Corey and Cailin are working on another expansion. This time they’re partnering with Gridiron Brewing and Ole Foggy Distillery to build a new 11,000-square-foot building that will meet the needs of all three businesses.
“Humbling is the only word that can really describe it,” Corey said of the support of customers and the business’ success. “It blows my mind the people that I get to meet every weekend and I’m so thankful for everybody and the opportunities that it’s given to me.”