CHILDREN OF SAW’S BBQ FOUNDER INHERITED THE BUSINESS UPON THEIR FATHER’S DEATH AND HOPE TO CARRY THE BUSINESS FORWARD FOR MANY YEARS TO COME “Mike Wilson, you created a hell of a barbecue joint,” Jennifer Wilson said when accepting a…
Ashley McMakin enjoys cooking for friends and family. Always has. At first, though, “I had no plans of (cooking) becoming a career,” she said. With a degree in marketing and her husband with one in accounting, each was busy in…
FOR 71 YEARS, THE PACEY FAMILY HAS BEEN MAKING CANDY AND CANNING SOUTHERN DELICACIES ON ALABAMA’S EASTERN SHORE In the late summer or early fall, you might find Paul Pacey at one of the end of a table mixing; his…
Kendra is the workaholic while Chad is the “volunteeraholic.” Chad thrives in the front of the house while Kendra happily toils in the back of the house. Kendra directs quality control and onsite production while Chad handles sales and customer…
LAUREL BASSETT STARTED WORKING AT THE MOUNTAIN BROOK STORE IN HIGH SCHOOL; BECAME A PARTNER IN 10 YEARS; OWNER IN 12 YEARS “For a business that was started by a woman in a house during World War II to still…
A Runyan has been operating Planters Hardware & Building Inc. on the square in downtown Ashland since 1916, give or take a year. “The Runyans have owned it since the early teens” of the 1900s, said Walt Runyan, the third-generation…
DESIGNER & CLIENT BECAME FRIENDS, THEN BUSINESS PARTNERS TO HELP CUSTOMERS CREATE COMFORTABLE & FUNCTIONAL SPACES In the late 1990s, Bill Barganier was working as a junior associate for a Montgomery interior design firm when he met a client, Robin…
On his way to work at the funeral home, Howard G. Johnson often stops at Sneaky Pete’s on 18th Street North in Bessemer to get his usual: “Two eggs, bacon, grits, toast and orange juice.” He’s one of the many…
Before May 2019, Jaclyn Robinson had only made beignets for her family. She didn’t make them often, just when the mood struck her. But for years the name Mo’Bay Beignet Co. had floated in and out of her mind. The…
JOE RICHBURG HAS ‘A PASSION FOR HIS EMPLOYEES, CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITY.’ HE GIVES BACK TO THE COMMUNITIES THAT SUPPORT J.R.’S LAWNMOWER SHOP Joe Richburg worked for 19 years at an Opp automobile dealership. In October of 1986, he and his…