Our Story

Over the years, Ken Millsap has been passionate about BBQ. Over time, more and more people enjoyed his BBQ and he began to receive special requests to bring it to various gatherings of family and friends. After all, what are amazing BBQ ribs, brisket and pulled pork without great traditional BBQ side dishes?

Tradition

One very traditional side dish, of course, is BBQ beans. Not being able to find any delicious BBQ beans on the market, Ken set out to develop his own original recipe. Not long after, his BBQ beans got rave reviews. People still loved the BBQ main dishes, but they couldn’t get enough of Ken’s smokey BBQ beans. Whenever the Millsaps were invited to a party, a family campout, or a backyard BBQ, they couldn’t show up without the beans. These beans even made a 1200-mile trip for a tailgate party before the 2012 Rose Bowl game between Oregon and Wisconsin!

Family and friends kept telling Ken that he should be “selling those beans.” So, after years of making the beans and receiving accolades that “They were the best BBQ beans that we have ever tasted!” Ken figured “why not?” …and the journey to market began.

At first the Millsaps did not have an official name. They had yet to seriously consider turning the BBQ bean venture into a family business. Once Ken decided to jump in feet first, the Millsaps realized the time had come to develop a brand name and identity.

Inspiration

For inspiration and motivation they looked to their youngest son Theodore, Ted or “Theo” as he was fondly referred to. Theo was an amazing young man. He was lovingly adopted from South Korea through Holt International Children Services. He arrived as a baby into the arms of the Millsap family at the Portland airport when he was just five months old.

Sadly, as is true for many young adults in our society these days, Theo dealt with serious issues of depression and bi-polar disorder, and at times found great difficulty coping with the daily ups and downs of life. In 2016, the family lost Theo to suicide at the age of 25.

Theo was always the life of the party. He had an amazingly big heart and personality to match. He never met a stranger that he wasn’t friends with within five minutes. Theo also had a big appetite and he loved his dad’s BBQ. They decided, what better way to remember and honor Theo than to name this venture after him.