Meet Richard/Donna Dean | Owner/Operator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Richard/Donna Dean and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Richard/Donna, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We did not really set out with intention on staring our own business. My husband would always grill or smoke different meats for friend’s or parties we were invited to. People would wait in line for his ribs and always tell us we should really consider starting our own bbq business. We blew it off year after year. Then in 2014 we actually thought about it. My friend and I was at work one day and we came up with the name “Deans Smokin Bbq”. We did a couple of catering events at that time, but it wasn’t until 2018 when we really realized this was something that we really need to pursue. We had no money and no idea where to begin. But we were determined.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Nursing has always been my first love. I thought I would retired as a nurse. It wasn’t until we lost our oldest son and my husband lost his mom in 2018 that my love for nursing took a back seat. At that time we realized life is too short and we were even more determined to take this leap of faith.

My husband played a lead role in production. He took his job super serious. But it wasn’t until he was denied a position that pushed him to take the leap of faith with me.

What make me most proud is we have a family business, and now we have 6 employees including our family members when needed. We are also proud of the gift of cooking my husband inherited from his mom. Who would have thought, out of 5 girls and 1 boy that the boy would get the cooking gene.

This journey has been very hard. There has been a lot of early morning, late nights, sweat and tears, but its all been worth it. Prayer is what keeps us going.

One of the lessons we have learned along the way is, slow and steady wins the race.

We are super excited to take Dean’s Smokin Bbq to the next level!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
One of the first places we take anyone who visits us is the “Dallas Farmers Market”. This is where we are located every Saturday and Sunday outside under “The Shed”. This September will be our 5th year anniversary there. The Market has so many wonderful local small business owners as well as farmers. You can shop, eat, and listen to live music. We would take our vegan lovers to our dear friend @ Bam’s Vega in located in Irving,TX or our good friends @vegan vibrations located inside legacy food hall in Plano,TX. Legacy food hall also has plenty of eating and upscale shopping. We all met and worked together at the Dallas farmer’ s market 3years before COVID hit.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Mary Williams is the co-worker, who turned into a dear friend who help us come up with the name of our business. She would always pray and encourage us along the way.

Website: under construction

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