As Founder - Chef/Pitmaster of Backdraft BBQ, I Ryan W. Grob will be painting the picture of how Backdraft BBQ has become what it is today.

I started my BBQ history by bartending at World Famous "17th Street Bar & Grill" in my hometown of Murphysboro Illinois back in 1991. While working there for the owner and BBQ legend Mike Mills, my BBQ interests were piqued. I started traveling to a few of their contests just to help with the grunt work. With another BBQ legend Pat Burke(Tower Rock BBQ) being Co-Captain of the Apple City BBQ Team, I would have been silly to not learn as much as I could as fast as I could. It was beneficial to see them at work, talking to judges, maintaining the Pits and getting called up to the stage to get their trophies, all very addicting! Well I got hooked. After several World Championships, Apple City BBQ called it quits to do even bigger things. It was time to start cooking on my own. I had formed my own BBQ Sauce(original) by the age of 18 and it was time to cook some meat to put it on.

I did a few cooks in the Memphis in May Circuit under the name "Slick Pigs" on borrowed cookers and such. At age 20 I decided that I needed my own Smoker so my Father, Brother and I started drawing, cutting and welding and churned out one of the nicest most state of the art Smokers of 1993. "I still use the same smoker at most BBQ Contest to date" So I packed up my new smoker and things and headed to Florida to do my 1st out of state Contest that just happen to fall on my 21st Birthday. What a Birthday it was! Brisket was one of the side categories and I had never cooked one before. I put some of the best flavor ever into a Brisket, said all the Judges, they just wish they could have chewed and swallowed it! So I learned from trial and error on that day just how to cook a perfect brisket today.

Several Contests and Awards later I ended up moving to Colorado in 1995 and finally getting my smoker moved out as well in 1996, I focused on Catering under the name "Backdraft BBQ" and trying to make some money. I was involved with several Sports Bars that I sold My BBQ out of until a opportunity came up for me to put my own Restaurant at Mira Vista Golf Course. Loving the game of Golf and the sport of BBQ'n, I put the two together, took a huge pay cut and did what I loved. I started to get the itch to compete again so the golf course sponsored me to head to Frisco and Dillon each year where I finished in the top ten. Not bad for taking 10 years off in the circuit.

Since then Mira Vista had closed for remodeling and I headed back to another sports bar to sell my food.. Over the next few years of growing tired of putting in the hours for someone else, we decided that we wanted to take a shot at one of the hardest things to do ever, open our own Restaurant. Now this was really starting to sound good on paper and when the perfect location came available in Thornton, it was time to get some help. That is when we recruited my Brother Randall Grob as a Partner. He was in love with the idea and willing to jump in with both feet. I have to say, Backdraft BBQ would have never got off the ground with out him and his wife Pam Grob and their continuous help. So thank you, for making my dream come true!
So Backdraft BBQ is truly a "Family owned and opererated" small business.. And my young son Ethan is also my big helper at most of my BBQ Contests. Now he is competing and winning in the Kids Q competitions. People are always amazed by his performances and his age.

Over the last year, there has been a lot of time, work and ideas poured into Backdraft BBQ. I am always experimenting, changing things and competing in contests to come up with new and better ways to provide our customers with the freshest and best BBQ possible. Over the last few years I have received numerous awards from contests which include 1st Place Sauce, Chicken, Pork, Grand Champions and People's Choice Champions for the last 3 years at the Smokin Brew BBQ Contest in Parker, CO on Labor Day Weekend, 1st Place in Pueblo's Chili Festival in 2009 and 1st Place at the Taste of Chambers for our Brisket and BBQ Beans.