Exploring Life & Business with Lonnie Wright of Flint Station and Jack Ruby’s Barbecue Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lonnie Wright.

Hi Lonnie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
How I got started? I was barbecuing for every friend event and house parties. I created a BBQ sauce that was so unique but tasted so good. My friend ask me “You should bottle the sauce and take it commercial. I started selling mason jars of BBQ sauce I cooked at home for $5 a jar. It was a hit among everyone. I searched for a co-packer to help assist me to producing on a larger scale. I found Milo Gourmet Foods in Athens, Ohio. I drove down and met with the owner Jonathan and he took me through the process. I entered the R&D process; this was my first experience really understanding how business works. I had to my ingredients cost by 17% to make the sauce have attractive pricing. Production day, I never forget the aroma of my sauce being produced on a mass scale. My first run I think it was about 3000 bottles. I remember Jonathan telling me,” I’ve worked with a lot of people who believe they have the best sauce on the market and I don’t hear from them again.” 64 days later, I contacted Jonathan and requested to be added to the production schedule because we were getting low. Ever since, we have worked together and Jonathan has become more like a mentor in sauce business. We are located in grocery stores. Jack Ruby’s Original and Spicy Barbecue Sauce.

The sauce sales enable us to open our food truck where we served the best brisket and BBQ staples. As we continued with the BBQ sauce and now have a food truck, we were looking for a place where we would not have to travel a place to call home. In April 2020, we entered an agreement with the previous owner of 225 Park Road, that will house Jack Ruby’s food truck on premises.

That agreement turned into the purchase of the building and bar. As of today, we own Flint Station Bar, Jack Ruby’s Food Truck, and Jack Ruby’s Barbecue Sauce.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing is smooth about business all the time. Some of the struggles is finding the right people helping you succeed. Yes, I created a lot business ventures and moves, but I also had to find the right people to help build the vision. No one can do it alone.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Flint Station and Jack Ruby’s Barbecue Company?
Flint Station is a full-service bar with an event space for rental. Also, has a large outdoor patio space where we host live music. We have in-house catering, bartender services, DJ services for any event.

Jack Ruby’s Barbecue Company is a BBQ company specializing in traditional BBQ staples and condiment supplier. Catering is available. We even will bring our smokers on-site to provide the ultimate BBQ smoking experience. Best BBQ in Ohio.

I’m most proud about both brands because I have awesome people who have helped and contribute to making it a success.

First Erika Wright, Morgan Reveille, Phil Wolfe, Jen Echols, Aaron Hudson, Justin Burwell, Melina Hudson.

How do you define success?
Success to me is just being able to have a vision and seeing it prosper. The road to success is hard, it has growing pains, but working for yourself is priceless. Success is being able to help others, whether it is knowledge, networking, etc, watching other fulfill their vision is successful. We have built a network of friends and connections that share so much information and contacts because we want to see everyone succeed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.flintstation.com
• Instagram: jackrubysbarbecue
• Facebook: Flint Station

Image Credits
Brittany Hawkins