FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 9, 2012

Media Contact: Jennifer Brand – (202) 731-2114

jbrand@brandsolutionsgroup.com

Professional BBQ Pitmasters Put Droid RAZR Phone’s KEVLAR and Gorilla Glass To the Test on Today’s Episode of “Can You Grill It?”

Click here to view video: — <<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp2K6kgDAi4>>

Washington, D.C. (May 9, 2012) – The grill masters at Pork Barrel BBQ are blazing a trail with the hottest reviews of popular mobile electronics in the new web video series, “Can You Grill It?” (www.CanYouGrillIt.com). Today’s You Tube episode features a brand new Motorola Droid RAZR 4G LTE phone getting raked over the coals, literally. This video a must-see for anyone considering purchasing the sleek, “impossibly thin” Droid RAZR phone.

Watch what happens when the grill masters throw the RAZR phone on their grill at 500 degrees. “Can You Grill It” addresses the questions curious consumers have about the most popular thinnest cell phone on the market today: Does the KEVLAR back keep flames away?  Will the Gorilla Glass crack over charcoal? To see what Droid Does, watch the latest video at <<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp2K6kgDAi4>>.

The country’s most innovative barbecue industry moguls, Heath Hall and Brett Thompson, are co-founders of Pork Barrel BBQ, the nation’s fastest growing barbecue sauce company, and the curious gill masters behind the “Can You Grill It?” web video series.

Check out the previous “Can You Grill It?” videos where the grill masters get their hands on the Apple iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tablet at www.CanYouGrillIt.com.

“Since summer time means hot temperatures outside and on the grill, we wanted to see whether the Droid RAZR phone could withstand the blazing hot heat,” said Hall. “People in the market for a new cell phone will want to see what happens should they ever get this sleek, thin device near their backyard barbecue grill.”

If you have an idea for a product you’d like to see the Can You Grill It team test on “Can You Grill It?” share your ideas with them by email at CanYouGrillIt@gmail.com, or by posting your ideas on the Can You Grill It Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/CanYouGrillIt?) or Twitter page (@CanYouGrillIt).

For more information, visit www.CanYouGrillIt.com.

About Heath Hall and Brett Thompson

Since founding Pork Barrel BBQ in 2009, Hall and Thompson have become the barbecue industry’s most-watched entrepreneurs and continue to earn support from avid barbecue fans with their top-ranked Pork Barrel BBQ Blog and as the number one most followed BBQ company on twitter (http://www.twitter.com/porkbarrelbbq).

Hall and Thompson have expanded their business from creating BBQ sauces and spice rubs in their home kitchens to selling award-winning BBQ products in over 4,000 stores across America including Harris Teeter, Whole Foods, Safeway and Costco. Their inaugural cookbook, the free Pork Barrel BBQ Guide to Tailgating, received praise from food and sports fans across America, and their sauces have won numerous awards and was recently named to the list of Best Sauce in America by Country Living Magazine and one of the “125 Best Foods for Men” by Men’s Health Magazine.

In 2011, Pork Barrel BBQ debuted a specialty BBQ-flavored peanut with FERIDIES, added Pork Barrel BBQ Mustard BBQ Sauce to their line of sauces, introduced the world’s first barbeque scented fragrance – Que, continued to earn top awards on the professional barbecue circuit, and opened the first Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia. In the first quarter of 2012, the company has debuted Pork Barrel BBQ Carolina Vinegar BBQ Sauce, made an appearance on a follow-up segment of ABC’s Shark Tank, and now debuts the “Can You Grill It” YouTube video series.

For more information about Pork Barrel BBQ, visit www.porkbarrelbbq.com and read about their latest updates and adventures on Facebook, Twitter (@porkbarrelbbq) and the company’s blog.

About Pork Barrel BBQ

Pork Barrel BBQ was founded in December 2008 during the peak of the economic crisis to prove that a company not owned or operated by the federal government could succeed, and that if you had a good idea, it was still possible to grab a piece of the American Dream. Pork Barrel BBQ founders, Heath Hall and Brett Thompson, ran the company out of the basement of their houses, selling their award winning BBQ products one bottle at a time. In less than one year, their Pork Barrel BBQ Sauces and Spice Rub were carried in over 1,000 stores in 40 states. Throughout their journey, they have stayed true to their mission – to unite the nation through the great tradition of BBQ, and bring bipartisan flavor to your next meal. The Pork Barrel BBQ Competition BBQ Team entered its first contest, The Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle, in June 2009, and walked away with two trophies – Second Place in the “Nations Best BBQ Sauce Contest” and Fourth Place for their pulled pork in the Memphis In May portion of the contest. Since then, the team has won multiple awards, including the 2011 Perdue National Chicken Championship, the Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle in 2011, the “Chinet People’s Choice” award for best BBQ sauce in 2010 and other notable Memphis in May and Kansas City Barbecue Society BBQ competition accolades as well as having their Pork Barrel BBQ Original BBQ Sauce named Best Sauce in America and one of “The 125 Best Foods for Men” by Men’s Health Magazine in November 2010. For more information, visit http://www.PorkBarrelBBQ.com or follow Pork Barrel BBQ on Facebook and Twitter (@porkbarrelbbq).

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 1, 2012

Media Contact: Jennifer Brand – (202) 731-2114

jbrand@brandsolutionsgroup.com

Never Shying Away from Grilling the Unusual, Pork Barrel BBQ Grill’s Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10.1 on Today’s Episode of “Can You Grill It?”

The Samsung vs. Apple Tablet Debate Yields Clear Winner

Click here to view video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_H-evcmbbY

Washington, D.C. (May 1, 2012) – The pitmasters at Pork Barrel BBQ, are firing up their grill to test the flame-worthiness of popular consumer products in a new series called “Can You Grill It?”. The new episode released today on www.CanYouGrillIt.com features a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 getting grilled and bursting into flames at 500 degrees.

Watch what happens when the grill masters get their hands on the Samsung Galaxy Tablet at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_H-evcmbbY.  Compared to the Apple iPad Grilling test released last week – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9qLwYjZo8U – the Can You Grill It? Series shows a clear difference between Samsung and Apple products on the Barbecue grill.

After curious consumers see what happens when this Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet is grill-tested over open flames, perhaps they’ll have a new appreciation for CNET’s review: “It’s the feel of the plastic back that is the most disappointing aspect of the Tab 10.1′s design.”

The country’s most innovative barbecue industry moguls, Heath Hall and Brett Thompson, are co-founders of Pork Barrel BBQ, the nation’s fastest growing barbecue sauce company, and the curious gill masters behind the “Can You Grill It?” web video series.

The pitmasters have ignited some controversy over their viral video series since launching the first “Can You Grill It?” video. “Apple iPad On Fire” featuring the Apple New iPad last week:

• Huffington Post – “If willful destruction of expensive gadgetry makes you cringe, then look away.”
• Kick 105 radio’s Sean Ericson – “I am willing to accept the challenge of grilling new and unusual things.  This however, is beyond anything I’ve tried.”
• Eater.com – “The barbecue nerds behind Washington DC’s Pork Barrel BBQ — they of the barbecue-scented cologne — are grilling iPads.”
• VegasSolBBQ – “Pretty tasty…. hope PETA doesn’t come after you for this one… (people for the ethical treatment of Accessories)”

“We can’t say for sure how many Samsung Galaxy’s have been sold, but we have a pretty good idea of how many have been grilled,” said Hall, President and co-founder of Pork Barrel BBQ.

“Your average product reviewers test new products and report on their findings – the products pros and cons, where the manufacturer exceeded expectations or delivered disappointments,” said Hall. “Consumer Reports, TechCrunch, and other product reviewers have always been curious about how products stand up to extreme temperatures, but have failed to take the important quality control step of seeing if you can actually grill the product. We are literally grilling products over a charcoal fire and revealing to everyone on video exactly what happens to these products when they are grilled.”

If you have an idea for a product you’d like to see the Can You Grill It team test on “Can You Grill It?” share your ideas with them by email at CanYouGrillIt@gmail.com, or by posting your ideas on the Can You Grill It Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/CanYouGrillIt?) or Twitter page (@CanYouGrillIt).

For more information, visit www.CanYouGrillIt.com.

About Heath Hall and Brett Thompson

Since founding Pork Barrel BBQ in 2009, Hall and Thompson have become the barbecue industry’s most-watched entrepreneurs and continue to earn support from avid barbecue fans with their top-ranked Pork Barrel BBQ Blog and as the number one most followed BBQ company on twitter (http://www.twitter.com/porkbarrelbbq).

Hall and Thompson have expanded their business from creating BBQ sauces and spice rubs in their home kitchens to selling award-winning BBQ products in over 4,000 stores across America including Harris Teeter, Whole Foods, Safeway and Costco. Their inaugural cookbook, the free Pork Barrel BBQ Guide to Tailgating, received praise from food and sports fans across America, and their sauces have won numerous awards and was recently named to the list of Best Sauce in America by Country Living Magazine and one of the “125 Best Foods for Men” by Men’s Health Magazine.

In 2011, Pork Barrel BBQ debuted a specialty BBQ-flavored peanut with FERIDIES, added Pork Barrel BBQ Mustard BBQ Sauce to their line of sauces, introduced the world’s first barbeque scented fragrance – Que, continued to earn top awards on the professional barbecue circuit, and opened the first Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia. In the first quarter of 2012, the company has debuted Pork Barrel BBQ Carolina Vinegar BBQ Sauce, made an appearance on a follow-up segment of ABC’s Shark Tank, and now debuts the “Can You Grill It” YouTube video series.

For more information about Pork Barrel BBQ, visit www.porkbarrelbbq.com and read about their latest updates and adventures on Facebook, Twitter (@porkbarrelbbq) and the company’s blog.

About Pork Barrel BBQ

Pork Barrel BBQ was founded in December 2008 during the peak of the economic crisis to prove that a company not owned or operated by the federal government could succeed, and that if you had a good idea, it was still possible to grab a piece of the American Dream. Pork Barrel BBQ founders, Heath Hall and Brett Thompson, ran the company out of the basement of their houses, selling their award winning BBQ products one bottle at a time. In less than one year, their Pork Barrel BBQ Sauces and Spice Rub were carried in over 1,000 stores in 40 states. Throughout their journey, they have stayed true to their mission – to unite the nation through the great tradition of BBQ, and bring bipartisan flavor to your next meal. The Pork Barrel BBQ Competition BBQ Team entered its first contest, The Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle, in June 2009, and walked away with two trophies – Second Place in the “Nations Best BBQ Sauce Contest” and Fourth Place for their pulled pork in the Memphis In May portion of the contest. Since then, the team has won multiple awards, including the 2011 Perdue National Chicken Championship, the Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle in 2011, the “Chinet People’s Choice” award for best BBQ sauce in 2010 and other notable Memphis in May and Kansas City Barbecue Society BBQ competition accolades as well as having their Pork Barrel BBQ Original BBQ Sauce named Best Sauce in America and one of “The 125 Best Foods for Men” by Men’s Health Magazine in November 2010. For more information, visit http://www.PorkBarrelBBQ.com or follow Pork Barrel BBQ on Facebook and Twitter (@porkbarrelbbq).

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 25, 2012

Media Contact: Jennifer Brand – (202) 731-2114

jbrand@brandsolutionsgroup.com

Pork Barrel BBQ Debuts First Episode Featuring Apple’s New iPad

Click here to view video: << http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9qLwYjZo8U >>

Washington, D.C. (April 24, 2012) – Pork Barrel BBQ, the company who dazzled America’s noses with last summer’s blockbuster hit barbeque-scented fragrance, Que, today debuted a new YouTube video series designed to answer the age old question “Can You Grill It?” (www.CanYouGrillIt.com).  Starting today, the country’s most innovative barbecue industry moguls will be firing up their grill to test the grill-ability of popular consumer products.

From the entrepreneurial minds that brought their national award winning barbecue sauce to ABC’s hit reality show, Shark Tank, comes a new take on viral videos designed for curious epicureans, grilling enthusiasts, tech geeks, fashionistas, pyromaniacs, pitmasters and the everyday guys and gals who enjoy backyard BBQ’s.

Grill masters Heath Hall and Brett Thompson will attempt to satisfy their curiosities by grilling what no sane griller has dared to grill before. The first episode of “Can You Grill It?” features a flame test of Apple’s latest iPad.

“As culinary artists we love to be at the cutting edge of cuisine and with the launch of “Can You Grill It?” we are prepared to take molecular gastronome to the next level,” said Hall, President and co-founder of Pork Barrel BBQ. “To kick the “Can You Grill It?” series off we asked the question on everyone’s mind – Can You Grill a new Apple iPad? –  the hottest product on the market today.”

The first episode of “Can You Grill It?” explores recent consumer issues related to Apple’s new iPad getting too hot to handle. To see if there is any truth to these overheating issues watch the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9qLwYjZo8U to see the Can You Grill It team test the new iPad’s tendencies to overheat quickly.

“Your average product reviewers test new products and report on their findings – the products pros and cons, where the manufacturer exceeded expectations or delivered disappointments,” said Hall. “Consumer Reports, TechCrunch, Gizmodo and Huffington Post and other product reviewers have always been curious about how products stand up to extreme temperatures, but have failed to take the important quality control step of seeing if you can actually grill the product. We are literally grilling products over a charcoal fire and revealing to everyone on video exactly what happens to these products when they are grilled.”

If you have an idea for a product you’d like to see the Can You Grill It team test on “Can You Grill It?” share your ideas with them by email at CanYouGrillIt@gmail.com, or by posting your ideas on the Can You Grill It Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/CanYouGrillIt?) or Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/CanYouGrillIt) page.

For more information, visit www.CanYouGrillIt.com.

Samsung Galaxy Android Tablet 10.1

Watch it melt into a completely unrecognizable mess of molten metal and plastic… more FIRE! at http://www.canyougrillit.com

Can You Grill It? Compare Reviews of Samsung Galaxy Tab vs Apple iPad? Don’t try to grill this on your Weber grill! No need for an iGrill to figure out if this Samsung is ready to eat!

Apple New iPad

Heat Issues? We ask the question Can You Grill The Apple New iPad? Apple iPad overheating? Retina Display Burns Longer? Would new iPad liquid metal make a difference?

NEW EPISODES EVERY TUESDAY! Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=porkbarrelbbq

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/PorkBarrelBBQ

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/PorkBarrelBBQFanPage

Pork Barrel BBQ was recently asked by the Harvard Business Review to share our thoughts on how teamwork impacts our efforts on the competitive barbecue circuit. To read the article please click here. Please leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Testimony of:

Heath Hall
President and Co-Founder
Pork Barrel BBQ
Alexandria, VA

Before the

Committee on Small Business
United States House of Representatives

March 21, 2012

The Honorable Sam Graves, (R-MO), Chairman
The Honorable Nydia Velazquez, (D-NY), Ranking Member

Good afternoon Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Velazquez and members of the Committee. Thank you for hosting this important hearing on entrepreneurship and for your invitation to provide testimony. My name is Heath Hall, and I am the President and co-founder of Pork Barrel BBQ, a BBQ sauce and spice rub company, with a newly opened restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia.

Small businesses and the entrepreneurs who create them fuel the engine that drives the American economy and as a result the success or failure of small businesses determines the overall health of our nation. It is an honor to return to Capital Hill where I once served as Senior Legislative Assistant to Senator Jim Talent, a former Chairman of this distinguished Committee, and perhaps more importantly the site where two entrepreneurs converged and the Pork Barrel BBQ journey began.

In early 2006 during a heated Senate budget debate my business partner and Pork Barrel BBQ co-founder, Brett Thompson, and I were two fatigued Senate staffers working late into the evening discussing the limited late night dining options on Capitol Hill. I’m sure you’ve found yourselves in this position more than once. While we discussed the lack of a good barbecue joint in Washington, D.C. and our desire for barbecue that night the Senate began to engage in a debate over the merits of pork barrel spending. At that very moment the idea for Pork Barrel BBQ was born.

Like so many entrepreneurs it took us several years to transform our idea into a blueprint for what we hoped would become a successful business. In June of 2008 we dusted off the idea to create Pork Barrel BBQ and began to take the necessary steps to move forward. After several weeks in the kitchen we were ready to convene the first meeting of the Pork Barrel BBQ Kitchen Cabinet, a team of friends and family who would be our tasters, and ask them to critique several variations of what would eventually become our first product, Pork Barrel BBQ All-American Spice Rub. After a second meeting we had the recipe for our first product and figured it would be smooth sailing from there. We couldn’t have been more wrong, for the challenges of entrepreneurship were just preparing to raise their ugly heads.

There is a critical point where every small business start-up and the entrepreneurs founding it have to make the decision to move forward and invest their own time and money with zero guarantee of getting anything back. For most entrepreneurs, including us, that question presented itself in the early stages when we were confronted with many forks in the road where one direction led to locking the door and heading for the safety and comfort of going no further and the other led down a path filled with challenges including interpreting government regulations, seeking adequate capital, and securing retail outlets and customers.

These challenges can make the heartiest entrepreneurs weak in the knees. There were more times than I can count in the first year of our company when we asked ourselves if attempting to reach our end goal was worth the risk, given the time away from our families and uncertainty associated with moving forward. I say this with the belief that we had it easier than most entrepreneurs as a result of our education as lawyers and familiarity with the regulatory process as former Congressional staffers. For many, if not most, getting through these challenges means spending precious capital, which is needed for product development or production (essential to elevating an idea to the point it can be considered a viable company) and on advisors who can instruct them on how to make their way through these early and frequent minefields.

After months of combing through state, local and federal regulations to ensure we were in compliance, Pork Barrel BBQ was formally founded in December 2008. Many friends and family members thought we were crazy founding Pork Barrel BBQ at the peak of the economic crisis, but we wanted to prove that a small business could succeed if it was founded by entrepreneurs with a tireless work ethic, who had a great product and a few people who believed in them enough to provide them critical advice and give them a chance. It was our goal to prove that the free market was still the best path to success for entrepreneurs and small business to take on their journey to grab their slice of the “American Dream.”

We sold our first tin of Pork Barrel BBQ All-American Spice Rub on December 4, 2008, and over the next three weeks sold nearly $2,000 in rub – if you knew any of our friends or family that holiday season you probably received a tin of our rub as a gift. We were flying high and felt like nothing could stand between us and success. That feeling lasted for only a few weeks before the cold reality of the challenges associated with breaking into the retail world hit us square in the face. We were an unknown, undercapitalized business in the land of giants. We needed everyone, while no one needed us. We were once again at a fork in the road where we had to decide whether to expand our risk or pack it up and go home.

We reassessed where we were and where we wanted to be and what it was going to take to get there. The first realization was that we needed every ounce of capital we could find, which at the time meant every ounce of capital we could personally contribute. Out of necessity we were forced to be good stewards of our limited funds and do the overwhelming majority of the work ourselves.

Because we had limited funds in addition to limited access to additional capital we decided that we would take nothing out of the company, every cent of profit would be reinvested and allow for greater growth. To this day, even as our company has been much more successful than the vast majority of small businesses, we have reinvested every dollar of profit back into the company. In order to do this we have both maintained full time employment outside of Pork Barrel BBQ, and still do, but this has allowed us and our company to survive. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that we are often forced to miss opportunities because duty calls at our day jobs. We believe this has led to a slower pace of growth than we would have realized by now if we had been able to dedicate our full time and energy to growing the business.

It is important to note here that every extra regulation, requirement, or delay that government imposes is a burden that new small businesses have to overcome. These burdens cost entrepreneurs time and money and often lead to many small businesses prematurely calling it quits, opting to create fewer jobs and slowing innovation. I’m not saying that none of the regulations were necessary or justified. They often were, but I do want the Committee to understand that they come at a cost in time and money which small businesses must pay and which can not be used to grow a company and create jobs.

Our second realization was that we would need to increase our brand identity if we had any hopes of playing on the same field as the larger and more developed businesses. The challenge was doing this on a shoe string budget. We accomplished this by targeting social media, a rapidly growing and virtually free avenue of marketing that many of barbecues’ well known brands had failed to take advantage of at the time. Within a few months we became the most followed barbecue company, which we still hold the honor of today, and one of the 100 most followed food companies on Twitter. This may seem insignificant to a Fortune 500 company, but it was the key that was about to unlock a great deal of opportunity for Pork Barrel BBQ.

In May 2009 we received an unforeseen bit of luck in the form of an inquiry from a producer at Mark Burnett Productions informing us of their interest in having Pork Barrel BBQ appear on Burnett’s new ABC reality show, Shark Tank. Burnett’s team had discovered us through Twitter and thought we were an ideal candidate to pitch our business to the Sharks on national television.

Shark Tank was an opportunity for us that most entrepreneurs will never enjoy. It allowed us to address two of our core concerns at both an accelerated pace and at one time. We were being given the opportunity to acquire much needed capital through an investment from the Sharks. In our case we secured an investment from Shark and New York real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran who remains a valuable business partner to this day. We also gained an unimaginable amount of national exposure that would take most entrepreneurs’ years or longer to attain. I sit before you today and can say with no hesitation that Pork Barrel BBQ would not be the national company we have grown into today, with our sauces and rub for sale in over 3,000 stores in more than 40 states, had it not been for our opportunity and determination to take full advantage of our appearance on Shark Tank.

I believe Shark Tank is one of the greatest things to happen to entrepreneurship in America in recent years. Not only does it provide a few dozen entrepreneurs, like Brett and I, the chance to go from an unknown to a national brand overnight, it is also inspiring thousands of entrepreneurs across America to shake their fears and decide the risk of entrepreneurship is worth taking. I know this because we receive emails and phone calls from entrepreneurs every week telling us how our success and Shark Tank has given them the confidence to take their shot at reaching for their piece of the American Dream. This renewed passion for entrepreneurship can only be a good thing for America.

The exposure we received on Shark Tank moved us from the 10 yard line to the 50 yard line almost overnight. Access to capital, although not gushing in, became more readily available, retail accounts who once slammed their doors in our face were now reaching out to us and consumers who had been loyal to a particular barbecue sauce for years were giving us a try. Success was ours and the troubles had passed us, right? Not quite.

Yes we were attaining levels of success that we never quite thought possible only months earlier, but new challenges were revealing themselves and they almost always ended back at the need for additional capital. With our new found notoriety we had gone from 10 stores to 100 stores to 500 stores to 1,000 stores and beyond in just weeks. New stores were demanding our product and old stores were asking for new products. As we began to expand our reach and the number of products we were offering we needed more and more capital to pay for product development, production, marketing, and food demos.

We were fortunate to meet Hunt Burke of Burke and Herbert Bank, an Alexandria, Virginia bank that believes in the entrepreneurial spirit and was as excited about Pork Barrel BBQ as Brett and I. To this day, as we grow, we continue to expand our relationship with Burke and Herbert and know that our growth is in large part to their partnership. I urge the Committee to encourage banks to support the endeavors of small business and entrepreneurs and complement them when they do. But again, banks must deal with their own regulations. After the financial crisis, the government became very concerned about banks assuming risk and passed new laws and regulations designed to minimize risky loans. That was understandable, but again, it came at a cost: fewer banks are willing to take a chance on companies like ours.

To support our rapid growth and continue to increase our available capital we have taken on additional investors over the past two years, an often necessary move that is difficult for entrepreneurs. It is hard to give up part of the company you have fought so hard to build with your bare hands. That being said, had we not made this decision there would have been times where difficult decisions would have potentially led to the end of our company.

I would be remiss if I failed to let the Committee know that there are many large businesses in America who support the entrepreneurial spirit of small and local business. In our case Harris Teeter grocery store took a chance on an unknown barbecue sauce, well before Men’s Health magazine named it the best barbecue sauce in America and one of “The 125 Best Foods for Men” and put us on their shelves. Costco began selling our product less than a month after they first tasted it and is truly one of the great American cultivators of small business taking brands such as Visio and Stacy’s Pita Chips to million dollar companies. Safeway has been among our biggest supporters since we first met in 2010 supporting us with unsubsidized promotions and ads. I believe it is important to note that America’s big businesses often play a vital role in the success of America’s small businesses.

In the three years since we founded Pork Barrel BBQ we have been forced to confront many challenges. Challenges that presented different paths that could have led to the dissolution of our company, but armed with the entrepreneurial spirit we fought to stay above water and inch towards our goal of proving that the free market is alive and well and the best way for an entrepreneur to grab their piece of the American Dream. Today you can find Pork Barrel BBQ products in 3,000 stores in over 40 states, a number we believe will reach 5,000 and all 50 states and several foreign countries this year. We have also opened our first Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia, and invite all of you to come dine with us in the near future. The accomplishment that I am most proud of is that we have created more than 40 jobs with the opening of our new restaurant and will likely see this number rise in the coming months as we open two additional restaurants in Del Ray, a sushi bar and Asian fusion restaurant.

We have attained much success, but know that challenges still await us as we continue on our journey, for the entrepreneur can never rest on their past laurels, they must always focus on the future.

Although I do not have specific policy recommendations for the Committee I would say that in my opinion, the average small business entrepreneur doesn’t expect or want to be unregulated. Pork Barrel BBQ takes quality and safety very seriously. We take pride in offering an affordable gourmet product that is high quality, good tasting, and safe for people to consume and is produced by manufactures that are current and have scored high on all required inspections. We all want safe workplaces, clean environments, and food safety to name a few areas where regulations impact small businesses.

The problem in my view is that there is no effective safeguard in the system to make sure that regulations are written and enforced in a way that minimizes the burden on honest, well-intentioned small business entrepreneurs. One approach I would encourage the Committee to look into would be for the government to adopt a partnership approach to regulation whenever possible. Allow entrepreneurs and their businesses to show that they want, in good faith, to comply and cooperate. In these cases it seems far more productive and less costly to all parties to partner with these business rather than adopting an adversarial attitude that leads to costly fines for mistakes that were made in good faith and that had no impact on public health and safety. Small businesses like ours do often feel like the government has a “gotcha” attitude towards our efforts, lying in wait to penalize us for paperwork violations or other errors that really have no relationship to the important goals regulations are meant to advance.

I would like to reiterate that America is still the land of opportunity and when given the chance an entrepreneur’s idea combined with the power of the free market can lead to amazing things. If America is to emerge from its economic woes it will be on the back of the entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial spirit that has defined America for generations. It takes courage to be an entrepreneur, in addition to a solid work ethic, a great idea, determination to see that idea become reality, and the encouragement and support of a few people.

Elected officials should keep in mind the sacrifices and risks entrepreneurs take when considering ways to increase the number of successful small businesses in America. Entrepreneurs hope to make a lot of money by providing something of value and provide a lot of people with jobs that allow them to take care of their families in the years to come. But, it is the entrepreneur who has taken all the risk and invests his or her time and money into their endeavors with no guarantee of return. If small businesses are not allowed to enjoy the benefit of success when it happens, they will never take the risk of failure.

Thank you and I look forward to your questions.

Pork Barrel BBQ’s Competition BBQ Team Kicks Off 2012 BBQ Season with Reser’s Sponsorship

Award-Wining BBQ team selected as one of three top-rated competition teams to represent Reser’s during 2012 BBQ season.

Reser’s Selects Top-Rated Competition Barbeque Teams Pellet Envy, Pork Barrel BBQ, and Meat, Inc. to Sponsor During 2012 Barbecue Season

Reser’s is sponsoring three competitive barbecue teams: Representing the West Coast is Meat, Inc., winner of numerous People’s Choice awards, the Midwest features Pellet Envy, the 2009 KCBS Team of the Year, and serving as the East Coast representative is Pork Barrel BBQ, creator of the barbecue sauce Men’s Health magazine named the best BBQ sauce in America.