You ought to try the Bushrod special!
Fresno, Calif., Natives Market Barbecue Sauce Under Unwieldy Family Name
Aug. 21 (The Fresno Bee/KRTBN)--Paul Bushrod Melton never told friends his
middle name while growing up because he feared they would laugh at him.
That same Cherokee middle name given to first-born males for three generations
in the Melton family has become highly decorated in the world of barbecue sauces
and marinades. Paul Melton, 59, of Fresno, a retired California Youth Authority
counselor, has won dozens of awards for his sauces and marinades.
Paul and his brother, George, make barbecue sauces, rubs (used for marinating)
and pepper sauces, nine varieties in all.
The Meltons, both Fresno natives, also build deep-pit barbecues for home and
business use.
The brothers are moving their barbecue manufacturing plant, Bushrod's
Manufacturing, from Modesto to an industrial park south of downtown Fresno. They
also plan to make their sauces and seasonings in the same location, taking up
15,000 square feet in the old 7-Up bottling plant at 2025 S. Mary St.
If their product lines become as popular as they expect, the Meltons have
options on surrounding buildings for expansion.
In a separate venture, they will start selling packaged beef, chicken and pork
products in a joint venture with Hestbeck's Meats using their marinades.
The love of barbecue originated with Paul Bushrod Melton Sr., a former airline
pilot who died 34 years ago. His passion for slow-cooking was passed on to his
namesake.
"It really started with his recipes, and we enhanced upon them," Paul Melton
said.
In 1980, Paul Melton was named a judge with the International Barbecue Society.
"I then started developing my own products and entered contests. Our sauces have
won about 50 different awards."
For the joint venture with Bushrod's, Hestbeck's will add a new plant on Hedges
Avenue, just north of downtown Fresno. Bushrod's Manufacturing offices are in
Hestbeck's meat plant until the Mary Street site is ready next month.
"It's just a natural that we are already set up as a processor to smoke, cook
and distribute the products nationally," said Durbin Breckenridge, 52, president
of Hestbeck's and a longtime friend of the Meltons.
"These are a couple of guys with a wonderful idea, and we have the expertise to
help both of us move into a different arena."
Bushrod's projects are expected to create more than 100 jobs by the end of next
year. To keep workers employed year-round, the Meltons will train employees to
make barbecue sauce and construct barbecues.
During the past five years, the Meltons have had sauces made and packaged by
other companies.
Until the Fresno plant begins operating next month, Bushrod's will continue to
have its food products manufactured by Esco Foods in San Francisco.
Esco began making the sau-ces in January. George Melton said the previous
company, CMS of Daly City, was unable to handle the volume they required. The
sauces are then sent to Hestbeck's for storage and distribution.
"For a start-up product, the demand is quite strong," said Marc Bosschart,
Esco's president. "It's obviously attributable to the product itself and their
marketing genius."
Bushrod's sponsors a NASCAR race car with the company logo marking the rear of
the car. They also sell a line of clothing emblazoned with Bushrod's bucking
bronco emblem.
Locally, the sauces are available in some Longs Drugs stores and 42 Smart and
Final stores. This year, Bushrod's will begin selling seven varieties of dry
dips for chips, George Melton said.
And the sauces may soon be on grocery shelves throughout California.
"We are working on Albertsons, Raley's, Ralphs and Food 4 Less,"
George Melton said. "We are going to try to go nationwide within 18 months."
Smart and Final also sells the smallest of the Bushrod's pit-barbecue line,
which retails for $399.
The company's large pit barbecues retail for as much as $5,000, and special
orders can cost $20,000. But 80 percent of orders are for family-sized
barbecues, the Meltons said.
Since January, the company has generated revenue averaging about $50, 000 per
month. The goal in three years is to reach between $10 million and $15 million
annually, George Melton said.
Lately, they have been forced to turn buyers away -- including an order for
9,000 barbecues -- because they can't keep pace with demand in the middle of the
move to Fresno, Paul Melton said.
"Once we get rolling, we would like to build 30,000 to 40,000 barbecues a year,"
George Melton said.
By Marc Benjamin
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(c) 2000, The Fresno Bee, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Business News.
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