By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Brandon Twp-After a year and a half of online sales, MI BBQ Supply has opened a brick and mortar location in Ortonville.
“We’ve been in the area for four years, and we fell in love with Ortonville and realized we wanted to stay for a long time,” said Mark Trudak. He and his wife Kayleigh own the business, located at 1591 S. Ortonville Road. “We decided to open a brick and mortar store so that people could have a different experience, they can come in and taste some of the items, and we get the satisfaction of helping people that are just getting into barbecue.”
While the storefront opened in May, Mark has been in the barbecue business much longer.
“We started off because I was on my brother’s competition team, and I got to meet all the pit masters,” he said. “We wanted to create a store front where people could purchase those award winning sauces and spices and share them with their families.”
MI BBQ Supply still has their online business as well, and they ship all across the US.
“Our gift boxes are very popular around father’s day and Christmas,” he said.
In addition to sauces and spices, they sell grills, pellet smokers, coolers, Bloody Mary mixes, disposable cutting board, Michigan-made cutting boards and much more.
“We’re super thankful for how welcoming people have been,” said Kayleigh.
The business has also drawn people in from all over the Midwest.
“It’s a pretty unique business to draw people to Ortonville,” said Mark. “They come here and then they go to the local restaurants and enjoy the town.”
Watch soon for demo and beginner classes at MI BBQ Supply. 1591 S. Ortonville Road, Ortonville. 248-296-0218 or mibbqsupply.com. Find them also on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.