BBQGuys facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Predecessor | ShoppersChoice.com |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Mike Hackley and Ladina Hackley |
| Headquarters | , |
| Owner | Brand Velocity Partners |
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Number of employees
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294 (2021) |
BBQGuys is a company that sells barbecue grills and outdoor cooking items. Its main office is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Michael Hackley, an Air Force veteran, and his wife, Ladina Hackley, started the company in 1998. It was first called The Grill Store & More. Later, it became BBQGuys when it started selling products online. In 2019, the United States Senate Committee honored BBQGuys as the Small Business of the Week. A company called Brand Velocity Partners bought BBQGuys in late 2020.
How BBQGuys Started
In 1998, Michael and Ladina Hackley opened The Grill Store & More. This first store was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They got the idea to start their own grill business after seeing a similar store. They began their company without any loans or money from investors.
During a time called the "dot-com bubble," many online businesses faced problems. The Grill Store & More also had money troubles. To help, Michael Hackley worked with Corey Tisdale. They launched an online store called bbqguys.com. The online store became very successful. Because of this, the company closed its three physical stores within a year.
Growing the Business Online
By 2003, Michael and Ladina were selling products from their homes. In 2004, they launched a new online store called Shopperschoice.com. Between 2003 and 2016, Shopperschoice.com grew a lot. It went from having five employees to 140 employees.
Mike Hackley and Corey Tisdale also started another company. They named it Blaze Outdoor Products. This company makes grills, smokers, and outdoor kitchen drawers.
In 2019, the United States Senate Committee named the company Small Business of the Week. At that time, it had been on the Inc. 5000 list for 11 years in a row. The Inc. 5000 list features the fastest-growing private companies in America. In the same year, Shopperschoice.com changed its name back to BBQGuys.com. This was the company's original online name.
In September 2019, BBQGuys made its main office bigger. This expansion helped create 50 new jobs for customer support. It also created 22 other jobs indirectly in Louisiana. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, BBQGuys kept hiring new people. About 90 percent of their team started working from home. Warehouse workers who could not work from home had new safety rules. The company added new cleaning and safety steps in their buildings.
New Owners in 2020
Michael Hackley, the original owner, sold BBQGuys in August 2020. A company called Brand Velocity Partners (BVP) bought it. BVP also bought Blaze Outdoor, which was BBQGuys' sister company.
As part of this sale, several famous NFL football players became investors. These players included Archie Manning and his sons, Cooper Manning, Peyton Manning, and Eli Manning. Other investors were LaDainian Tomlinson and Steve Hutchinson.
In March 2021, BBQGuys announced a new advertising campaign. Eli Manning and his father Archie Manning starred in these national ads. They helped promote the BBQGuys brand across the country.
