Who are we?

The short answer is, it doesn't really matter who we are. We aren't special. No one is special. 

We don't have some grand "mission statement" or "business bible." We could wax poetic for hours about loving memories of friends and family past, or service to the underprivileged in the community, or fulfilling patriotic duties - but we're serving food here. The food is the story. Our pasts aren't flavor. America is not a mouth-feel. 

We're four guys living in Akron Ohio who did a thing that felt good, and are pretty lucky that our combined skills led to some admittedly unexpected results.

So the question isn't "Who are we?" but rather "What got us doing this?"

Okay then... what got us doing this?

Thank you for indulging the pedantry.

We know that people like a cool making-lemonade-from-lemons story, especially in the Midwest. Hopefully something that you can relate to, like watching a child finally taking the training wheels off the bike - even though those circles are a little wobbly at first, they're doing it, you know? That kid feels like God, and wants everyone around to see, to share in that bliss of actually doing the thing. The nervous wobble fades away quickly, and it's no time at all before that kid is going down the road without using the handlebars, second nature.

That kid's untamed joy and pride are how we feel every time someone comes back to the service window to say "hey, I just wanted to tell you guys, that sandwich was incredible."

So here's how we got doing the thing. We think it's a pretty cool little story. And yeah, this page might be a bit long-winded, but no one's making you read this. Check out our socials if you want quick barbecue snippets.

Finally, something about us in the About Us page

For a period in time, we all lived on the same block on the North Hill of Akron. A majority of that era was coincident with various stages of pandemic lockdowns, which for many of us was not the most enjoyable of occasions. So we did what many other Americans did during the pandemic: converted an old retirement home bus into a food service vehicle with a barely tongue-in-cheek reference to kinky deviant behavior.

Okay, that's jumping ahead. What we actually did was spend free time working on a vacant lot on our street, left neglected for years after the house had been torn down, and turned it into a community garden. What else were we supposed to do during covid, sit inside and think about all the stuff we weren't allowed to do? This garden project provided us with a few essential benefits:

1, a more-than-overdue green space in North Hill with plenty of crops to enjoy and grass to touch

2, an area for everyone to come together and share each other's company with some beers and such in the afternoons, while being responsibly socially-distant

3, a larger-than-average space for us to set up potluck-style dinners that made everyone else jealous

Those dinners set the stages for a number of items on our menu. With fewer obligations than we had before the pandemic, that meant more time could be spent slow-cooking meats and trying new recipes. We started doing it a couple times each month, then basically weekly, getting to be better cooks and better friends as the days went by. Those two pandemic summers culminated in the realization that we had achieved something truly fantastic with all those pork butts and briskets and side dishes. After months of flirting with the idea (and going through enough bourbon whiskey to easily kill 2 horses, according to Reddit), the concept finally came up in serious conversation - this stuff is too good to not be selling. If we were gonna sell it, we'd need to pool our expertise and resources to follow that dream. A brick & mortar restaurant seemed like a bad startup move (dining in was still a rough topic), but you know, if we had a food truck, we could go anywhere. We could do anything. We could be riding this bike with no handlebars in no time.

So as stated earlier, we did end up setting out to acquire everything necessary to turn an old retirement home bus into a proper food service vehicle. A few months later, all we needed was a name and a game plan.

We had previously set up a Facebook event for a 4th of July gathering in that North Hill community garden, preparing all of our favorite foods and drinks for all of our favorite buddies to enjoy. Seeking a funny name to pique the interests of the invitees, it was titled "Buds, Drinks, & Smoked Meats for the 4th." After all, that's what we were bringing together for the occasion, so why not let people know to expect some BDSM? After sticking on that kind of double-entendre, spitballing ideas for a few weeks, the name of our project was finally spoken aloud, and it seemed all too obvious after the fact. It represented the fun, weird energy that we brought to our endeavors, and contained the superlative that would hold us to excellence with each order. 

We wanted to serve the Best Damn Smoked Meats in the area, and have fun doing it.

In May of 2022, with all the pieces coming together around the same time (lol) we launched in a parking lot on E. Cuyahoga Falls Avenue. Passers-by would slow down, sometimes giving us a thumbs-up, sometimes taking pictures. Turns out that when you're operating a unit emblazoned with a whip-wielding, apple-ball-gagged piggy that proudly declares "BDSM" on the back, you can meet some pretty cool people - especially when that truck smells delicious.

So if you really wanted an "about us" takeaway of who we are, you can call us Akron's BDSM Boys. We're out here keeping it saucy and spicy.

For making it this far down the page, thank you for your attention. For your business, we thank you for the consideration. And for helping us get this far in our proverbial journey, you have our sincerest gratitude. Our friends and community in Akron were loving enough to take off those training wheels and tell us to do the thing. You have made us feel undeservedly special. ❤️