Community Highlights: Meet Eric Morningstar of E.D.S The Sauce Guys / E.D.S The Sauce Guys BBQ

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Morningstar. Them and their team share their story with us below:

In 2015, Our company began as a labor of love, literally. Eric’s wife’s favorite restaurant was closing, and the sauce she loved was going with it. So, he set out to duplicate it. He shared the recipe with family members, Denim and Jessica, on a vacation. When they got back home, they made it for a little get-together with friends. It was such a hit that the two families decided to start selling it. E.D.S (Eric and Denim’s Sauce) Bourbon Sauce was born. As good as it was, we decided to make it better by adding in Blackberries. Doing that caused sales to increase to the point that we had to begin making it commercially. We had outgrown our little kitchens! Over the next months, we kept adding flavors, selling at local supermarkets and craft shows. People kept telling us we needed to open a restaurant. So, in 2021, we finally took the leap and opened E.D.S The Sauceguys BBQ in Mt Gilead, Ohio. In the past year, we have been told many times that our BBQ outranks BBQ eaten in the Carolinas and even Texas. We have rapidly become a favorite in the area, having people drive from over an hour away just to get some our food. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a lot of hard work. In the beginning, my cousin and I both had full-time jobs and traveled on the weekends to find new customers. Owning your own business is not a walk in the park. We decided that we didn’t want to borrow money or reinvest into the sauce company. We literally started the BBQ sauce company with $40. That was a struggle. Dealing with inventory and all the equipment we would need to get. It was tough but also helped push us to continue to seek out customers and shows to sell sauce. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about E.D.S The Sauce Guys / E.D.S The Sauce Guys BBQ?
We are known for creating unique sauces for the last 6 years. We are getting known now for our quality food at our restaurant. We smoke brisket, pulled pork, bologna, steak sliders, St Louis ribs, rib tips, bourbon chicken, mac & cheese, pineapple coleslaw, custom baked beans, smoked cornbread, and jalapeños cornbread. We have also smoked chili, broccoli & cheese soup, chili dogs, meatloaf, and much more for specials. We don’t do them all the time but like to smoke any food we can think of. Our sauces are really what sets us apart from most other BBQ restaurants. All of our sauces are custom and not just adding spices to a BBQ sauce bought from a store. They are from scratch and produced in small batches. Our Blackberry Bourbon Sauce has been the best-selling sauce from day one. We did just launch the world’s first dill pickle BBQ sauce this month as well. We have though that the dill BBQ might give the blackberry a run for its money, but only time will tell. As for our brand, we genuinely care about our sauces and our food. We try to give the best possible product for the best price we can. That has been our goal from the birth of our business. 

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
As business owners, we have learned that even when things look rough to push through because we are ultimately the driving force behind our success. Money comes and goes but continuing to work towards the vision takes sacrifice and perseverance because nothing that comes easy is worth much. 

Pricing:

• Sauces are $9.00
• Meals start at $13.00

Contact Info:

• Website: edssauceguys.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/E.D.SBourbonSauce/