Category / The Mills Family

28
Dec

17th Street Barbecue 2023 Year in Review

2023 - The Year in Review (Row of pics from the year at 17St and Faye)

A 2023 year in review. As we bound into 2024 with fresh perspective, renewed creativity, and endless enthusiasm, we’re taking a moment to reflect on all that has happened in this roller coaster of a year.

2023 was a challenge, and, while it caused several periods of immense stress for our team, it also created an environment for us to stretch and grow like never before. Closing our restaurant in Marion, Illinois, was a sobering moment. We’re proud of and grateful for our strong 19-year run in that community. Ultimately, we made a decision and a commitment to double down on all of our businesses in Murphysboro ~ 17th Street Barbecue, Faye, The Factory at 17th Street, The Warehouse event center, catering, concessions, OnCue, mail order, and more.

The same financial and staffing  issues plague all small business owners, especially restaurateurs. New laws, another minimum-wage increase, and food prices that continue to skyrocket make things really difficult. Frankly, there’s no end in sight. If you value the unique character, culture, and charm that family-owned restaurants and businesses bring to your community, we urge you to support them. Every time you eat at a chain restaurant, it’s a nail in the coffin of a family-owned establishment. We’re so fortunate in Southern Illinois to have many charming, unique, and delicious restaurants and I guarantee that each of them needs more business right now ~ especially through January and February which are really difficult months in the hospitality industry.

The lows we experienced are counterbalanced by some incredible highs and, thanks to strength of our tremendous team and the community and region who are staunch supporters, 2023 was filled with many proud moments and excellent events. Let’s recap:

January  –  We traveled to Springfield for the inaugural ball. Such a thrill to serve our barbecue to 2,000 fans and enjoy an intimate Bruno Mars performance. Our immensely talented friend, Joshua Lanning, did a guest chef pop-up at Faye and our guests enjoyed his amazing food.

February  –  Got my yearly dose of inspiration at The Southern C Summit, on beautiful St. Simon’s Island. We produced an OnCue seminar, with a strong assist from Damon Wise, Pineapple Express Barbecue, welcoming barbecue restaurateurs, caterers, and barbecue professionals from all over the country and Brazil. As of this writing, over 1,400 people from 45 states and 16 countries have attended our professional-level barbecue education events. We’re proud to pour Scratch Beer at Faye and we held our second collaborative brunch celebrating their Fig Porter release.

March  –  An extra-exciting month as I was named a Landmarks Illinois Influencer,  and we were a Top Four Finalist in the Illinois Manufacturing Association’s Maker’s Madness contest.

April  –  The annual Jeff Michner Foundation barbecue event at Pig Beach in New York is near and dear to our heart as we gathered with some of our #bbqfamily to raise funds in Jeff’s honor. An added bonus this year was filming a segment of Michael Symon’s BBQ USA series. Faye was recognized as a Restoration Hero by our local historic commission.

May  –  May is officially Barbecue Month and it was a big one as we were named Best Barbecue in Illinois by Food Network. Alejandra Ramos featured our products on one of her TODAY show segments and it was such a thrill to see our Pig Packs on national television. We celebrated Faye’s one-year anniversary and kicked off the third year of working as Kingsford Preserve the Pit mentor. I was paired with Tay Nelson, of Bobby’s BBQ in Greenville, NC, and we had a productive series of calls, webinars, and meet-ups during our work together. Serving as a Preserve the Pit mentor continues to be some of my most rewarding volunteer work. On The Factory at 17th Street side of things, we were proud to add Meijer and Hy-Vee to our account roster. Please look for our sauces and Magic Dust on shelves nationwide!

June  –  Flower bars and Oak Street Art pop-ups kept us hopping at Faye. Our most exciting event in June was being featured in an Illinois tourism commercial with Jane Lynch. I was a guest on MarketAbilities and Small Town Big Business podcasts, talking about building a legacy business and marketing in a small town.

July  –  We celebrated 38 years of 17th Street ~ quite a feat! The Factory at 17th Street continued to onboard co-packing clients and produced thousands of bottles of sauce and dry rub for our wholesale accounts.

August  –  The BBQ USA Food Network episode we filmed in April aired in August, causing a run on Hog Warsh sales, for which we were grateful! Phillip, Ben, and part of our crew made our yearly appearance at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. We have a strong fan base there and it’s always great to showcase our barbecue in our state’s capital.

September  –  The 36th Annual Praise the Lard Barbecue Cook-off was a resounding success. We welcomed 90 teams from across the USA for the only tri-sanctioned event in the country — KCBS, MBN, and SCA. This year we created a double-header with our steak contest and we added pork steak and anything apple categories. Janky Leg, our KCBS grand champion, provided an extra thrill when they won the American Royal the following week. SPACE Architecture won a ASID Missouri East Pinnacle Award for Faye’s interior design.

 

October  –  Firebox, hosted by Southern Soul Barbecue, on St. Simon’s Island, kicked off October. This meaningful event raises money for a hospitality workers’ fund in Brunswick County, Georgia, and is one of my favorite events each year. I spent a beautiful weekend in Lynchburg, Tennessee, judging the Jack Daniel’s World Invitational Barbecue Cooking Contest. Faye leaned into Halloween this year with a fun Witch’s Night Out, and the staff dressing as different versions of me on Halloween — workout Amy, media Amy, coffee shop Amy, and barbecue Amy. Clever!

November  –  Participating in Holy Smokes and raising money for pediatric cancer was a rewarding way to kick off November. Cocktail Club was in full swing, and we honored veterans on Veterans Day with free barbecue at 17th Street and coffee and crullers at Faye. I was a guest on Joe Leavitt’s excellent May the Smoke Be With You podcast.

December  –  Packing up mail-order boxes of barbecue and merchandise, catering for Christmas parties and preparing holiday feasts keeps us hopping in December. Faye events included fundraising for the Humane Society with our Paws for Claus evening of pet photos with Santa and cocktails and s’mores by the fire pits. We hosted Oak Street Art and SOE pop-ups as well. Our favorite part of December is welcoming so many families and groups of friends who’ve made gathering at 17th Street a cherished tradition.

We’re conscious every single day that we are living and carrying on the Mike Mills legacy and I know he is beaming down from above. Cheers to the year that was and onward into 2024. Thanks to each of you for your unwavering support. Wishing you peace, prosperity, biscuits, and barbecue in the New Year!

21
Jul

Shining a Light on Southern Illinois

Shining a Light on Southern Illinois

Shining a light on Southern Illinois is one of our core business values and pillars. At 17th Street Barbecue, we relish any opportunity we might get to shine a light on this special region and to invite people from all over to our little corner of the world. There is some pretty incredible history, geography, innovation, and creativity to be found all around Southern Illinois. We tend to focus our efforts mostly on lifting up our barbecue culture, heritage, and local small business community members however we can. But when we stop and consider all at once the bounty that surrounds us, it makes us feel pretty darn lucky to be doing what we do right here in the #MiddleOfEverything.

This year has been a busy one when it comes to our promotion of Southern Illinois, and there’s much more to come. Please allow us to share with you a few quick takes…


Still shot from commercial. shine a light on southern illinoisIf you haven’t yet experienced this fun commercial recently released by Illinois Tourism, we highly recommend you take 30 seconds to check it out. It stars Illinois native Jane Lynch, and features several top destinations that are not to missed in the southern region of the state. 17th Street Barbecue is included in the fun, along with Rolling Oak Alpaca Ranch, Walkers Bluff, Cache Bayou Outfitters, the Shawnee National Forest, and the spectacular Garden of the Gods. There’s so much to see and do right in our backyard ~ let’s get out there!


Small Town Big Business Logo shine a light on southern illinoisEarlier this month, Amy was a featured guest on the podcast Small Town, Big Business, produced in Marion, IL.  The discussion begins with the story of three generations of the Mills family. Each had a hand in building 17th Street Barbecue into the national brand it is today, starting with a dream and a sauce recipe. Additional topics include what it takes to be an entrepreneur in a small town, and what kind of choices a small business owner might need to make along the way. It also touches on  how it is both the successes and the failures over time that serve as important building blocks for positive business growth.


Logo17th Street Barbecue is looking forward to exhibiting again this year at the Southern Illinois Made Expo, an exciting event developed through a partnership between State Senator Dale Fowler and the Southern Illinois Chambers of Commerce. It’s a showcase of innovative and unique products made and beautiful destinations available in Southern Illinois. This year’s Expo will take place on July 22-23 from 10am to 4pm at The Pavilion in Marion. Stop by and see us!


Faye facade with Restoration Hero sign shine a light on southern illinoisThe Murphysboro Historic Preservation Commission presented its first Restoration Hero Award for 2023 to Amy Mills for her restoration work at 1616 Walnut Street. In choosing to restore instead of raze this building Amy saved not only a part of Murphysboro’s architectural history but also its unique streetscape. The spot is now home to Murphysboro’s newest café, Faye, serving specialty coffees, scratch-made breakfast and lunch, local beers and cocktails, along with a gourmet grocery and gifts section.


Animation of Amy with award plus historic shots of MurphysboroThis past March, Amy was honored to be named a Landmarks Illinois 2023 Influencer. The organization produced a profoundly lovely 3-minute video featuring Amy to share at their Preservation Forward award ceremony in Chicago. Full of rich archival footage and storytelling, the piece focused not only on the work the Mills family has put into their Murphysboro businesses, but on the story of Murphysboro itself. Historic images and anecdotes about the town’s factories and mining companies paint a clear-eyed portrait of the town’s history, and summon a promising look forward to its future. This was an excellent opportunity to shine a light on Southern Illinois in front of a crowd of invested restoration fans, right in our state’s largest city.  You can read more about Amy’s experiences at the event here.


"To preserve these beautiful old buildings on ourmain street is to preserve the soul of our community.But preservation is not only about buildings andstructures, [it] is also about food and food culture." –Amy Mills Logo shine a light on southern illinois

Now in its 36th year, the Praise the Lard Murphysboro Cook-Off is a highly anticipated local event. It is a huge draw for barbecue enthusiasts from across the nation. The Cook-Off takes place the third week of September, every year since it was started by Mike Mills and friends in 1986. The contest draws visitors from 14 states and several countries. Over 90 teams compete for national notoriety, SCA, KCBS and MBN titles, and cash prizes. Attendees savor delicious food, barbecue culture, hospitality and all that Southern Illinois has to offer. For the duration of the Cook-Off, the regional population swells by several times its normal size. This shift helps lift up the local economy and create Southern Illinois memories for visitors to savor — and planting the seed for future return trips.