Today we’d like to introduce you to Dustin Jimenez.
Dustin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Following high school, I went to culinary school to pursue my passion. After four years of working in a commercial kitchen for a corporate dining company, I decided to transfer to the Off shore division. I moved up & became a Chef off shore for different oil platforms and rigs for the next five years. In 2015, I started doing pop up sales at a local recycling center that a good friend of mine owned. I would have 2-3 weeks off at a time so I figured I’d start smoking some bbq and selling plates to keep me busy and have some extra cash (side hustle). It wasn’t long before I was maxing my smoker out and cooking 6 to 7 briskets at a time only to sell out in a few hours. So in 2016, I decided to launch Smokin D’s LLC and bought my first piece of commercial equipment, a 30-year-old Southern pride XLT 1300 BJ rotisserie smoker.
As my business grew, a year later I purchased a food trailer & begin doing food truck events all while still maintaining a full-time job working offshore. Our popularity increased through social media & our big break came in 2017 when we were contacted by the Cooking Channel. The popular barbecue show MAN FIRE FOOD was interested in hearing our story & featuring us! We were chosen & had landed the season premiere of season seven. It was at this point I realized the good Lord was laying out my path and it was time to give this side hustle a full time go! So I decided to retire from the off shore life and operate the food truck full time. Our name and concepts continued to grow rapidly and I was given a great opportunity to partner up with a friend and open up our brick and mortar early October 2019! Smokin D’s BBQ FUSION BAR & GRILL.
Has it been a smooth road?
Lol, it’s never smooth but your learn. You learn everyday in this industry and there’s always obstacles to overcome. Staffing, orders, catering, the list goes on and on but we are blessed to be a thriving new business and embrace all of the daily struggles that all entrepreneurs and business owners face.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Smokin D’s BBQ Fusion story. Tell us more about the business.
Our BBQ Fusion concert is definitely different from your Traditional barbecue. When I started my company I knew I wanted to do more than just barbecue in by bringing on the fusion conserve it has allowed me to take the good from both my barbecue background and also my culinary background. I would definitely say we are most known for our BRISKETMACDILLA (Brisket-Mac-Dilla).
It’s our famous barbecue quesadilla that has chopped brisket mac & cheese and shredded cheese in a flour tortilla topped with our maiden house southwest ranch. I believe our company brings a different side to the barbecue world. In Texas, everyone’s at backyard pit Master and everyone feels like they got the best barbecue in town. The competition is fierce and if you’re going to do barbecue in Texas you have to bring your A game. With our company and our fusion concept we are able to bring something different along with the traditional bbq. I’m very proud of our Tex-mex, Asian, and even a little creole fusion dishes that we offer.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I do see the barbecue industry still thriving in the years to come. Texans love to eat barbecue. With the barbecue seen changing daily adding tex mex influence and along with other cuisines, the bbq world is only going to get better! Barbecue is growing all around the world and it’s exciting to see people travel to eat at all these awesome bbq restaurants that have grown in the past few years. I can only hope and pray that one day our bbq will be up on the list with the greats of the bbq world!
Contact Info:
- Address: 2625 SH-35N
Alvin Tx 77511 - Phone: 281-968-7601
- Email: smokkndsbbqfusion@gmail.com
- Instagram: Smokin D’s BBQ FUSION
- Facebook: Smokin D’s BBQ BAR & GRILL
- Twitter: @smokinfusion
- Yelp: Smokin D’s BBQ FUSION
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