SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. — July 4 and BBQ go hand in hand. But, the tasty tradition of smoking meat and hanging out works any day of the year for Joe Kenyon.
“I kind of grew up around that smoke smell,” the Safety Harbor native said Thursday morning at one of his favorite local restaurants.
Placed on the bar at Whistle Stop Bar & Grill sat three of Kenyon’s scrumptious creations. His line of BBQ sauces has caught the attention of many local restaurants and shops because of their incredible flavor and inspiration mission. He calls his line Joe's Harbor-Q Pit Sauce.
“It’s very good. It’s been his recipe in his family for years,” said Louis Kinney, owner of Whistle Stop since February. “There is a sweetness to it that just jumps out on our sandwich.”
Kenyon, 31, is a military veteran, having served nearly eight years in the Air Force. He was stationed in Fort Bragg in North Carolina and found that there, in the heart of BBQ country, some of the only things he had time to do were work, work out, and smoke meat.
“I just kind of got in the habit of getting off of work and throwing something on the grill and letting it smoke for three to eight hours,” he said. “I kind of fell in love with it.”
It was there that he met his good friend, Zane Grabans. After four years of service Grabans, sadly, took his own life after returning home to Ohio. The news shook his former roommate and BBQ buddy.
“He was so good at hiding it. Some people just become too good at hiding their feelings and the pain that they’re going through,” said Kenyon. “(Veterans) are fighting their own fight, someway somehow, and I just want people to realize that.”
Kenyon’s sauces, which he named Joe’s Harbor-Q Pit Sauce (with a little help from his mom), donates ten percent of sales to the Zane Grabans Memorial Foundation.
It was set up by his family after he died. It’s Kenyon’s way of giving back to a man who made an impression on his life and served our nation.
“I’m constantly in contact with his mom,” he said. “I still want to be as much a part of his life through her as I can. She’s an amazing person. She’s been through a lot.”
That idea has been embraced by Safety Harbor, too. The sauces have become a hit up and down Main Street in Kenyon’s hometown. It’s served in multiple restaurants and even the Mobil gas station. Spice of the Harbor owners Todd and Heather Anderson stock it. It found its way onto menus at the Screaming Jalapeno, Brady’s Backyard BBQ, and three different dishes at Whistle Stop.
“I come from a family of veterans and first responders and anything that has to do with that we definitely want to be a big supporter of,” said Kinney. “Anything to keep that rolling and keep that camaraderie of just what a small town means in this country and the people who protect this country do.”
If pressed, Kenyon can’t choose a favorite flavor. The original recipe includes beer from Crooked Thumb Brewery in Safety Harbor. He also used Horse Soldier Bourbon from St. Pete in his hotter sauce. Supporting local businesses is important to Kenyon. He even uses a Tampa company for his bottles.
The mission is simple: support the family of a military veteran lost to suicide. Nationally, 23 veterans take their own lives per day on average. That statistic saddens people like Kenyon, especially since he knows someone personally associated with the tragic figure.
Making donations from his sauce sales, he says, is a special way to hopefully support those who are grieving.
“It basically goes towards scholarships and veterans suicide awareness,” said Kenyon. “He’s a big motivation behind what I’m doing now.”
Joe’s Harbor-Q Pit Sauce comes in three flavors, Original, “The Floridian”, and the spicy “Hotel Oscar Tango”. You can find them online at Facebook and Instagram or by emailing Kenyon at hbqpitsauce@gmail.com.
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