Keith Hall, owner and pitmaster of The Grilling Company, prefers not to get into any debate about what is traditional barbecue and what is not. Instead, he just does his own thing and lets his wood pile, his customized Texas built wood barbecue pit and his smoky and tender briskets, tell the story.
"I only use wood in my pit,” Hall says. “This is what I do." The Grilling Company recently celebrated their grand opening on West River Drive with a ribbon cutting ceremony in mid-October, after a two-month soft launch. Before opening a brick and mortar location, Hall had been catering from his home in Cedar Springs for almost four years.
The Grilling Company features barbecue takeout and catering. They specialize in many traditional barbecue items: pulled pork, chicken, sausage, ribs, burnt ends, and brisket, plus a wide variety of made-from-scratch side dishes. Hall says all seasonings and sauces are also his own creation.
Hall estimates he goes through about two cords of apple wood per month in his custom built trailer and pit, which he recently hauled back from Whitney, Texas. (For the record, a full cord of wood has a volume of about 128 cubic feet. That is a lot of wood.)
"I left Grand Rapids at 5:00 p.m. on a Thursday and was back cooking in Grand Rapids on Saturday,” he said. A round trip of almost 3,000 miles made in less than 48 hours.
The Grilling Company has a team of four employees, along with several seasonal and event staff.
The Grilling Company is located at 6231 West River Drive NE. You can view their
website here and join their
Facebook page here.
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor.
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