5830 Georgia Ave, NW
Ed. Note: The BBQ Bus Smokehouse opened here back in 2017.
From the BBQ Bus:
“WE’LL RISE AGAIN
A couple of years ago someone asked what I did for work.
“I ring up customers at the register.”
I was being somewhat glib. Small business owners have boundary issues and find ourselves doing everything. Big to small. Most important to least. Whenever possible at the least convenient times.
I was, however, scheduled to work the register that day.
The inquirer stared. She pressed:
“What do you really do?”
I blanked out. I stared back. Then I blurted: “I gather and nourish.”
She paused.
“What does that mean?”
“Food’s job is to gather people for sharing. I facilitate that. And when I was small and my Dad said grace, he asked God that the food we eat nourish not just our bodies but our souls. So I help with that too.”
I don’t know where those words came from. At the time BBQ Bus was 7 year old, but it was the first time I understood what it was that I really did for a living.
There have always been challenges living this call to service; from when we were aspiring-but-broke entrepreneurs, to our early years navigating regulations, to growing and learning how to operationalize.
But today feels different. (more…)
