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In
Marengo County, about half a mile outside of Thomaston, Marsha and
Lenoard Moseley have built a small business neither of them expected and
both of them have enjoyed.
"God
has really blessed us with this business," says Marsha of L & M
BBQ.
Marsha
said she and Lenoard didn’t start by trying to build a business, but
the demand for their product took on a life of its own in the late
1990s. "Lenoard and I had gotten very involved in the private
school where I taught and our daughters went to school. One of the
projects we worked on was a barbecue fundraiser that seemed to grow
every year. Our top year, with the help of some others, I think we
cooked 22 hogs for the school. I was afraid they had sold more than we
could cook."
As
word spread of their delicious chopped pork, people began calling
Lenoard and Marsha about their own events.
"We’d
get orders from people who had a family function and wanted to know if
we would cook some meat for them, and it just grew from there,"
said Marsha.
In
2003, they made it official with an outdoor kitchen and regular visits
from the health inspector, and now a short order restaurant and a local
gas station sell their barbecue on a regular basis. L & M BBQ also
fills special orders and caters.
"Our
catering is very casual though," said Marsha. "We use paper
plates and everybody’s laid back. No big sets of fancy china or
anything."
Marsha
is being modest. While they are popular features at tailgate parties, L
& M BBQ has also catered engagement parties, sorority dinners,
school banquets and provided steak dinners for companies’ Christmas
parties. They also cook slabs of ribs for local organization
fundraisers.
But
their chopped pork is still their biggest seller.
"And
when we’re asked to do a meal, it’s usually chopped pork, baked
beans and potato salad," said Marsha.
She
wouldn’t know how to tell someone how they cook their barbecue, but
she is willing to share two of their best sauce recipes and a
small-scale version of the baked beans they cook. She also offers some
family recipes, like Corn Casserole and Quick and Easy Lasagna, as well
as one of her most popular desserts, Strawberry Trifle.
"It’s
always a hit, it doesn’t take much time to prepare and you could
really use whatever fruit you have on hand," she said.
Kellie
Henderson is a freelance writer from Troy.
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