17th street bbq
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersMurphysboro, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What 17th street bbq does
17th Street BBQ is a family-owned barbecue hospitality group headquartered in Murphysboro, Illinois, founded by pitmaster Mike Mills in 1985. The company operates a flagship dine-in and drive-thru restaurant at 32 N. 17th Street, supplemented by full-service catering for 10 to 10,000 guests across Southern Illinois (including a $3,310 Whole Hog Extravaganza package) and nationwide mail-order shipping of ribs, pulled pork, sides, and merchandise through shop17bbq.com and the Goldbelly marketplace. The core production technology is traditional wood-fired cooking using apple and cherry woods over approximately six-hour smokes, supported by proprietary recipes including the trademarked Magic Dust® rub and four sauce varietals (Mike's Original, Apple City Red, Little Kick, Hog Warsh) blended by Townsend Spice and now manufactured at the FDA- and SQF-certified Factory at 17th Street co-packing facility launched in 2021.
The business has expanded beyond the restaurant into adjacent verticals: OnCue Consulting (barbecue business education and seminars), The Warehouse event venue, Faye coffee/café (2022), and B2B co-packing services for other barbecue operators. Retail distribution extends to Meijer, Hy-Vee, and World Market, and the company produces branded merchandise, apparel, and two James Beard-nominated cookbooks. Following Mike Mills' death in 2020, his daughter Amy Mills — a Food Network judge and Barbecue Heroine recipient — assumed ownership and leadership, closing the secondary Marion, Illinois location in 2023 to consolidate around the Murphysboro campus. The company is privately held, with no external funding disclosed.
The brand carries significant intangible equity: Mike Mills was a four-time World Champion at Memphis in May, inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2010, and the restaurant has been named "Best Barbecue in Illinois" by Food Network and "Best Ribs in America" by Bon Appétit. The annual Praise the Lard Cook-Off, running 37+ years, drew a record 119 teams from 20 states in 2024, and OnCue has trained over 1,400 barbecue professionals across 45 states and 16 countries. Revenue is generated through a mix of restaurant transactions, catering contracts, mail-order and marketplace sales, retail CPG distribution, co-packing managed services, and consulting fees.
17th street bbq firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 17th street bbq
- Legal name
- 17th Street Barbecue
- Website
- https://17bbq.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
17th street bbq industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Barbecue Restaurant & Catering
- NAICS
- Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Caterers (722320), Food Services and Drinking Places (722)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030)
- akta.pro primary industry
- BBQ & Smokehouse Fast Casual (THAFABAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Family-Style Restaurants (THAFACAC), BBQ Sauce & Marinades Manufacturing (AFAKADAH)
Keywords
Where 17th street bbq is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Murphysboro
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
17th street bbq business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Restaurant Sales: Revenue from dine-in and drive-thru restaurant operations at the Murphysboro, IL location. Menu includes smoked meats, sides, and beverages.
- Catering Services: Full-service catering for events from 10 to 10,000 guests, including bulk pickup and delivery. Offers various menu options including Whole Hog Extravaganza service.
- Mail Order / E-commerce: Nationwide shipping of barbecue products including ribs, pulled pork, sauces, Magic Dust, merchandise, and books. Orders over $50 ship free.
- OnCue Consulting: Amy Mills operates the only barbecue business consultancy in the world, offering seminars, training, and smoke tours focused on barbecue culinary and business techniques.
- Co-Packing Services: The Factory at 17th Street offers sauce and condiment co-packing services for other barbecue restaurants and food businesses. Handles hot and cold fill products, retail and institutional sizes.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Dine-in menu pricing for individual items |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Bulk pickup pricing for catering and events |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Whole Hog Extravaganza catering packages |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Retail merchandise and products |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
17th street bbq product offering
Product offeringCore offering
17th Street BBQ is a family-owned barbecue restaurant group headquartered in Murphysboro, Illinois, that operates a flagship dine-in barbecue restaurant, full-service catering, nationwide mail-order shipping of barbecue and signature products, and a co-packing facility producing its own line of sauces, rubs, and seasonings under The Factory at 17th Street. The company also runs an event venue (The Warehouse), a café (Faye), and offers barbecue industry consulting through OnCue Consulting.
Product overview
17th Street BBQ is a Southern Illinois-based barbecue restaurant group offering a diversified portfolio of products and services. The core offering is the restaurant operations in Murphysboro (and formerly Marion) with dine-in, drive-thru, and take-out services featuring smoked meats, signature sides, and housemade desserts. Complementary products include mail-order barbecue shipped nationwide, a full line of barbecue sauces (Mike's Original, Apple City Red, Little Kick, Hog Warsh) and dry rubs (Magic Dust, Brisket Rub), two cookbooks (Peace, Love, and Barbecue and Praise the Lard), and branded apparel/merchandise available through the online shop. The company also operates catering services for events from 10 to 10,000 guests, OnCue Consulting (the only barbecue business consultancy offering seminars and training), The Factory at 17th Street (sauce co-packing facility), The Warehouse event venue, and Faye cafe. The annual Praise the Lard Cook-Off and Whole Hog Extravaganza catering option round out the service offerings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- OnCue Consulting: Amy Mills' barbecue business consultancy offering seminars and training focused on culinary and business techniques behind great barbecue. The only barbecue business consultancy in the world.
- The Factory at 17th Street
- Faye
- The Warehouse at 17th Street
- Magic Dust
Quantifiable outcome
- Named 'Best Barbecue in Illinois' by Food Network
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use 17th street bbq
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
17th street bbq technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
17th street bbq partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Big Muddy BrewingminorBig Muddy Brewing in Murphysboro created the 17th Street Smoked Amber Ale for 17th Street BBQ. Brewed with hops smoked over cherry wood to complement barbecue. Available in 22 oz bottles in Illinois liquor stores.
- Memphis Championship Barbecuecore17th Street Barbecue operates under different names in Las Vegas - Memphis Championship Barbecue is a founding partner venture with Mike Mills. This represents the company's expansion outside of Illinois.
- Blue Smoke (NYC)coreMike Mills served as the barbecue guru and partner in Blue Smoke restaurant in New York City. This partnership brought 17th Street Barbecue's methods to a major metropolitan market.
- Ole Hickory Pitscore17th Street BBQ uses Ole Hickory Pits for their commercial barbecue equipment. Listed as a sponsor for the annual cook-off.
- Certified Angus Beefcore17th Street BBQ uses Certified Angus Beef for their brisket. Listed as a major sponsor of the annual cook-off.
- Royal Oak Charcoalminor17th Street BBQ uses Royal Oak lump charcoal for their restaurant and at home. Listed as a friend/sponsor of the company.
- Townsend SpicecoreThousands of pounds of Magic Dust® per year is blended at Townsend Spice in Oxford, Arkansas. They provide spices and ingredients for rubs and sausage making.
- Creekstone Farmsminor17th Street BBQ uses Creekstone Farms Premium Black Angus beef for brisket in restaurants and at events.
- KingsfordminorKingsford is a sponsor of the annual Praise the Lard Cook-Off. Amy Mills also serves as a Kingsford Preserve the Pit mentor.
- Goldbellyminor17th Street BBQ products are featured on Goldbelly platform for National Restaurant Month promotions, offering qualifying orders with $50 Goldbelly vouchers.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
17th street bbq competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que: Award-winning Kansas City BBQ restaurant group operating dine-in locations with a major nationwide mail-order and Goldbelly shipping business. Directly comparable as a nationally recognized BBQ brand monetizing both restaurant experience and shipped packaged products.
- Franklin Barbecue: Iconic Austin, Texas BBQ restaurant run by pitmaster Aaron Franklin, widely regarded as one of America's best BBQ destinations. Directly comparable as a single-location, award-driven BBQ institution built on pitmaster reputation and traditional wood-smoked methods.
- Memphis Championship Barbecue: Las Vegas BBQ concept co-founded by Mike Mills. Operates a restaurant extension of the 17th Street/Mills family barbecue method in a different geographic market, making it both a peer and an existing partnership vehicle.
- Blues Hog: Competition-winning BBQ rub and sauce brand with national retail distribution and direct-to-consumer online sales. Directly comparable as a BBQ sauces/rubs product peer competing for the same shelf and mail-order customer.
- Ubon's Bar-B-Q: Mississippi-based award-winning BBQ restaurant, multiple-time world champion pitmaster brand, with retail sauce distribution. Comparable as a competition-pedigree regional BBQ operator monetizing pitmaster reputation through both restaurant and packaged products.
Broad incumbents
- Famous Dave's: Largest publicly recognized BBQ restaurant chain in the U.S. with a broad menu and retail sauce line. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the BBQ category, though at much greater scale and with a casual-dining format versus 17th Street's heritage pit-smoke positioning.
- Sonny's BBQ: Long-running BBQ franchise chain operating dozens of company-owned and franchised casual BBQ restaurants across the Southeast. Comparable as a broader BBQ casual-dining incumbent; competes for casual BBQ occasions though lacking 17th Street's competition pedigree.
- Mission BBQ: Multi-unit fast-casual BBQ chain with a patriotic theme and national footprint. Comparable as a broader casual BBQ chain serving dine-in, catering, and to-go at significantly greater scale than 17th Street's single location.
Emerging players
- Heath Riles BBQ: Competition pitmaster-led brand selling rubs, sauces, and pellet grills direct-to-consumer. Comparable as an emerging BBQ influencer/pitmaster brand leveraging competition credentials into a packaged product business, though smaller and without a flagship restaurant.
Others
- Goldbelly: National curated e-commerce marketplace for iconic regional foods, including 17th Street BBQ products. Comparable as a distribution channel peer/platform partner that enables small heritage restaurants to access nationwide shipping customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
17th street bbq social profiles
Digital presence17th street bbq compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
17th street bbq financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
17th street bbq leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
17th street bbq subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
17th street bbq funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
17th street bbq M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 17th street bbq
What does 17th street bbq do?
17th Street BBQ is a family-owned barbecue restaurant group headquartered in Murphysboro, Illinois, that operates a flagship dine-in barbecue restaurant, full-service catering, nationwide mail-order shipping of barbecue and signature products, and a co-packing facility producing its own line of sauces, rubs, and seasonings under The Factory at 17th Street. The company also runs an event venue (The Warehouse), a café (Faye), and offers barbecue industry consulting through OnCue Consulting.
Is 17th street bbq a public or private company?
17th street bbq is a private company. It is currently operating.
When was 17th street bbq founded?
17th street bbq was founded in 1985.
Where is 17th street bbq based?
17th street bbq is headquartered in Murphysboro, United States, in the North America region.
How does 17th street bbq make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Restaurant Sales are the primary driver. The others are catering Services, mail Order / E-commerce, onCue Consulting and co-Packing Services.
Who are 17th street bbq's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, Franklin Barbecue, Memphis Championship Barbecue, Blues Hog and Ubon's Bar-B-Q. Broad incumbents are Famous Dave's, Sonny's BBQ and Mission BBQ. Heath Riles BBQ is listed as an emerging player. Goldbelly is listed as an others.
Does 17th street bbq have an API?
No public API is recorded for 17th street bbq.
What industry is 17th street bbq in?
17th street bbq's product category is Barbecue Restaurant & Catering. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFABAH, BBQ & Smokehouse Fast Casual, with a secondary code of THAFACAC, Family-Style Restaurants. Its NAICS code is 722513 and its SIC code is 5810.