Graduated from Bosse High School
I graduated from Bosse High School and started at SIU with the intention of obtaining an education degree.
Timeline Over The Years…
2005
Finding the Loves of My Life
I started working at 17th St. BBQ in Marion, IL where I found the loves of my life, Kathy and BBQ.
I quickly figured out that college was not for me and made the choice to work full time in the restaurant industry. I became a sort of apprentice under Mike Mills aka The Legend which he was known in the world of BBQ. Mike was a three-time World Grand Champion and a four-time Grand Champion at Memphis in May, the Super Bowl of Swine. Mike realized I enjoyed cooking and I had a passion for BBQ. He quickly became my mentor as I moved up the ladder at 17th Street and learned that pitmaster was the job I truly enjoyed.
I traveled with Mike to Las Vegas, San Diego, and Greensboro, North Carolina as I learned about the regional styles of BBQ. In a single weekend, we fed 10,000 hungry New Yorkers at the Big Apple Block Party. Through Mike, I found my passion!
2007
2009
Our First Little Bear
Kathy and I welcomed our oldest child, Kylie.
Homecoming
September – Kathy and I welcomed our first son, Will.
November – Kathy and I decided it was time to move back home to raiser our family. With two children and an optimistic outlook we found ourselves in Evansville ready to see what was to come next. Shortly after, I started at Dewig Meats. I wanted to learn where meat came from besides a box.
2013
2017
Starting My Catering Journey
September – Kathy and I welcomed our first son, Will.
November – Kathy and I decided it was time to move back home to raiser our family. With two children and an optimistic outlook we found ourselves in Evansville ready to see what was to come next.
November – Started at Dewig Meats. I wanted to learn where meat came from besides a box.
Getting Pappa Bear’s Going
Jan – I started Pappa Bear’s Catering, LLC.
March – The COVID pandemic forced us, as a brand new independent business, to come up with a new business model to adapt to the times. Our caterings dropped off drastically and the caterings that did not cancel gave us a new challenge, catering but without contact. This was a time for our food truck to thrive. We visited neighborhoods, set up in parking lots, and went anywhere we could so we could get our product into the hands of the people.
March – We hired our first employee to work in our food truck.
Summer – Once the travel ban was lifted, Farm 57 and Myriad Brewing Company became regular stops for our food truck.
2020
2021
Growing and Helping
We started offering Take and Bake meals for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, allowing our customers to bring our food home for easy and convenient options.
February – We purchased our Gopher van to use for deliveries as our business grew.
March – We smoked our first alligator.
March – We traveled to Indianapolis, IN with our food truck for the Koch Air Vendor fair.
April – We launched our first website.
June – We participated in our first Chef’s on Parade for the Evansville Parade of Homes.
December – We partnered with Operation BBQ Relief, feeding first responders and residents impacted by the Mayfield, KY tornadoes.
More Growing
We partnered with Myriad Brewing Company for special events such as Mardi Gras, St. Ptricks Day, Oktoberfest, and Hall-O-Wing Fest. We continued to grow our business through caterings and food truck events.
February – We held a ribbon-cutting to kick off our food truck season.
May – I teamed up with 17th St. BBQ at the Memphis in May cookoff.
July – We set up shop at the Gibson County Fair for the week.
June – We attended the W.C. Handy Blues and Barbecue Fest in Henderson, KY.
November – We hosted our first Give Back event with our food truck.
December – We catered for 3,700 people over the course of three days.
2022
2023
Even More Growing
February – A few our our employees went to Orlando, FL for the NBBQA Conference.
April – We hosted our first selling items fundraiser.
May – Our food truck had some structural work done. While it was in the shop 17Th St BBQ let us borrow one of their food trucks.
June – Helped Tecumseh High School softball team win the state title by feeding them their pre-game meal.
November – We purchased our second work vehicle, “The Legend” in memory of Mike.
Pig Trucks and Bowl Mobiles
February – We purchased our hot/cold truck that is known as the “Pig Truck.”
March – Bottled and started selling our Piggy Juice.
April – We participated in the solar eclipse celebration at the Gibson County Fairgrounds.
October – We participated in our first Korn Ferry Tournament in French Lick, IN serving players at the Donald Ross Golf Course and all of the volunteers.
September – We won “Best Food” at the Granted charity event.
November – We purchased the “Bowl Mobile.” After doing the math for the year, we determined we had sold enough twice-baked potato casserole from 1/1/24-11/15/24 to feed over half of Vanderburgh County!
2024
2025
Moving Forward
March – We catered for media and VIP guests at the Missouri Valley Conference.
April – We launched our new and improved website!
Mike was a three-time World Grand Champion and a four-time Grand Champion at Memphis in May, the Super Bowl of Swine.
Getting Pappa Bear’s Going
The Dewigs really helped me get started and, by early 2020, Pappa Bear’s was out on the road. And so was a pandemic. When it was safe to go out again, we started catering big (up to 3000!) and small events and took out the food truck as often as we could.
