Meet Michael De Los Santos | Entrepreneur & Pitmaster

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael De Los Santos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, how do you think about risk?
Life is about taking risks, and this is especially true if you want to be an entrepreneur. Your business won’t be able to grow, if you don’t take risks. It also means you have to be ready to fail, because risks don’t always come with rewards. They do always come with lessons for the next risk you want to take. Mike D’s BBQ would not be where it is now if I did not take risks when trying to grow. So risk taking has played a major role in my life and business.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am the owner of Mike D’s BBQ. It started as a business selling BBQ Sauces and Rubs, and has grown to include a BBQ Supply Store, a BBQ festival, and now a Smokehouse! Our sauces are award winning and we use those award winning flavors at our smokehouse. As many bbq restaurants are moving to indoor gas smokers, we are part of a select few who still do it the old school way with wood and coal on our outdoor pits. The flavors doing BBQ this way are unmatched and that combined with our award winning products is what sets us apart!

Nothing about being in business is easy. You have to love what you do, to be able to push through the hard times. Since a major part of this business is honoring the memory of my son, that is how I push through the hard times and challenges. I lean on his memory and trying to honor his fight to live, and that helps me push through.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned along the way, is that you can’t do this alone. It is important to build a good team, and have good mentors and accountability partners to help you. Trying to do it all alone can lead to burnout and losing the love and passion which helped you get started in the first place.

Mike D’s BBQ is all about building community through good food. Come visit and build good community with us!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As a foodie, most of where I would take them would be about my favorite places to eat. The other places would be determined by the time of the year. For example, if they come during baseball season, I would definitely be taking them to a bulls game. If they are coming during college football season, I am definitely taking them to a game at NCCU to watch those Eagles play! I would bring them to East Durham so they could grab some sweets at East Durham Sweet Shop and they could also grab some soaps from Little Homestead Farm. I would make sure they got a hot dog and some sweet tea or lemonade from Cates Hot Dogs, some coffee and a book from Rofhiwa Book Cafe. On another day, we would grab a sandwich from Ideals, have dinner at Mike D’s BBQ (of course) and have drinks at Congress Bar and Proximity Brewing. There is a lot to do in East Durham. I would also take them to some of my other favorite food spots in Durham, like Boricua Soul, Sweets by Shayda, and Mezcalito!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are several people who deserve some recognition in my growth as a business. First, my wife Gloria, deserves to be mentioned. It is not easy being married to someone who is trying to grow their business, especially when that includes adding a restaurant. It means I am working incredibly long hours and puts more pressure on her and she has been great!

Website: www.mikedsbbq.com

Instagram: @mikedsbbq

Twitter: @mikedsbbq

Facebook: /mikedsbbq

Image Credits
All Photos by Stacey Sprenz Photography