Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Rossler.
Hi Steven, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
We are a Veteran Owned Family Operated Barbecue business in Harker Heights, TX. I served 20 and 1/2 years in the Army as an Infantrymen. I am a Retired Disabled Combat Veteran with deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan. I have been awarded the Bronze Star with Valor Medal for actions in Afghanistan. Kristen has over 12 years of experience in the restaurant and food industry. She worked a various restaurants in Midland, TX and her last job at Murrays Deli, she was a manager.
We both knew that when I retired, that I was going to have to do something to keep me out of trouble. Back in 2015 when we got married, we had a lot of cookouts, just like I did growing up. So we decided to make that into something more. I was Active Duty still and we had a one-year-old, we had a lot of sleepless nights and good and bad bbq. We learned so much throughout the years and truly started with nothing. We now have a 500 gallon Moberg Smoker and a cargo trailer that was converted to a food trailer by Trott RV and Repair LLC. We have cooked alongside Top 10 and Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas Monthly. We have made so many friends through bbq that we are so happy, we made the decision to start selling bbq. We set up in the Harker Heights Smile Doctors parking lot, 300 Morgan St. Harker Heights, TX, every Thursday and Friday from 1130-6pm.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t been easy at all. When we started, I was still Active Duty and Kristen was a stay at home Mom. We were hardly making it, but we pushed through it all. I remember staying up all night to cook and go to P.T. at 5 am with no sleep. Eventually, I taught Kristen how to cook and I’d start the smoker in the morning and put the meat on, then she would watch the fire until lunch and I’d come home and tend to the fire. Just wild to think how we started everything.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m the Copperas Cove, Killeen, Harker Heights and Nolanville area, I’d say it’s our bbq as a whole. We use expensive cuts of meat, and that shows in the final product. I think the real star of the business is Kristen’s and our two girls dessert’s. They come up with some of the most off the wall combinations and man are they good.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
YES!!! Thank God we didn’t go brick and mortar, we were inches away from buying a spot, and I’m so thankful we didn’t. We are able to move around and feed people where we are needed. We now have a secure location, but when Covid 1st started, we were so thankful we didn’t have the added stress of owning a building.
Pricing:
- Our pricing varies week by week. Average cost per plate $18
Contact Info:
- Email: steven@rosslersbluecordbbq.com
- Website: Rosslersbluecordbbq.com
- Instagram: rosslers_blue_cord_bbq
- Facebook: @rosslersbluecordbbq
Image Credits
Tattoo of BARBECUE on my knuckles 📸 by Joe McGregor of IG handle ministersofsmoke My daughter Juju’s hand reaching for a burnt end “Brisket is Life” trademarked by Jamie Wang
