Barbecue sauce preference can be very personal when it comes to flavor and texture. Walk into any
grocery store and you'll find an entire section of an aisle dedicated to this tangy, sweet sauce.
Stubb's barbecue sauce has quite the following, but many people may not realize
that bottles weren't sold at supermarkets until much later. That's because Stubb's first began as
a restaurant in Lubbock, Texas, which also served as a music venue attracting crowds from all over.
As for the sauce, it would be a few decades before the man known as Stubb
would consider bottling up his recipe and putting his face on the label. This company
would later be worth millions too, all in the name of a delicious sweet sauce.
Christopher B. Stubblefield, or "Stubb" as family and friends knew him,
was the man behind the well-known barbecue sauce. But selling his own sauce wasn't
initially on his radar, nor would it be for several years.
His adventures in all things barbecue began while stationed as a gunner in the army.
Stubb was part of the U.S. Army's all-Black infantry in the 96th Field
Artillery during the Korean War. After two injuries, he became a mess sergeant,
which gave him plenty of cooking experience. But when he was honorably discharged in 1967,
he moved back home to Lubbock, Texas, where he was inspired to open a restaurant.
By 1968, he opened his first restaurant and called it Stubb's Legendary Barbecue.
It was a small operation, with a maximum capacity of 75 people. He served beef brisket, ribs,
sausages, and chicken, which were smoked in the outside hickory pit located behind his restaurant.
It became equally popular as a hangout spot and a place to listen to live music
while eating scrumptious barbecue, especially on weekends. In fact, musicians would come to
play in exchange for tips and good ole barbecue since Stubb didn't have the cash to pay them.
"Stubb's Barbecue actually, like Joe says is a place for
the musicians, some- a lot of bands that's been … put together here."
Less than two decades later, money and tax problems forced Stubb's to close its doors.
According to the company website, he told Texas Monthly,
"Let's put it this way, I got run out of Lubbock 'cause I was broke,
busted, and disgusted. I can't fight the IRS with barbecue and sauce."
Soon, Stubb relocated from Lubbock to Austin, Texas, where he started working at a barbecue
place. In 1986, he left that job to open a new restaurant and music venue of his own.
Sadly, it closed down three years later, but that's when inspiration hit.
At the suggestion of several friends, he decided to bottle up his sauce and sell it.
In the beginning, he reused bottles and jars and simply removed the labels. He hand-poured his
sauce and corked each container with a jalapeño pepper. Bottles could also be purchased with
an audio cookbook called "Stubb's Blues Cookbook Cassette," which was recorded on a cassette tape.
Stubb's barbeque brand, which also includes rubs and marinades,
was sold to McCormick & Company in 2015 for a hefty sum. According to a press release in 2015,
"Stubb's products complement McCormick's range of grilling items with the addition of authentic,
craft barbeque sauces. McCormick plans to drive sales of the Stubb's brand
through expanded distribution, increased household penetration and innovative flavors."
Thanks to this acquisition, you can find the Stubb's brand in many places around the world.
In May of 1995, Stubb died at the age of 64 due to congestive heart failure. Nevertheless,
his spirit lives on not only through his line of barbecue sauces, marinades, and cookbooks,
but also through the restaurant in Austin, Texas that he once had to close.
After his death, his partners raised money to purchase the historical building that housed his
restaurant so they could bring people together to enjoy barbecue and live music once again.
Even though his first restaurant had been closed for years, his friends crafted a life-size bronze
statue of Stubb that was placed near the original location as a tribute to him and his hometown.
So if you ever find yourself passing through Lubbock, you can pay your respects to Mr. Stubb.
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