BY REBECCA KRELL​​​​​​​​​​

Birney Boehland worked in real estate for almost a decade but felt the need to change career paths after moving to Charleston from Vermont. He searched for something different to complement his new Southern address when it occurred to him that it had been with him all along—his father's homemade barbecue.

​     When Boehland was growing up in Chicago, his father's hickory-smoked pulled pork was a family favorite that quickly gained reverence in the area. Boehland watched as his dad entered numerous barbecue contests around the city, including the revered Mike Royko Rib-Off.

     Those memories came flooding back to Boehland in when he decided to keep the family tradition alive and open Birney's Foods in 2009. He spent weeks in his personal kitchen altering and eventually perfecting his dad's recipe, visiting countless restaurants in town to hand deliver samples with the hope that they would buy the first Birney's Foods product.

     The recipe proved to be a success when Red's Ice House and Crab Shack were the first to serve his homemade dish. News of the new barbecue company in town quickly spread among restaurant owners. Mad River, Wild Wings, Toast and Vendue Inn all jumped on the bandwagon soon thereafter.​

     Birney's Foods now sells to food distributors Sysco and U.S. Foods, bringing his father's original creation to restaurants and grocery stores across the South. But don't worry—Birney's Foods is still produced right here in Charleston by the man who started it all.