Tom Joshua was a freed slave who amassed 5,000+ acres of South Texas land during a time when former-slaves didn’t own anything. His hard work, including harvesting timber as fuel for the nearby power station, is a heroic example of rags-to-riches as he wisely invested in land and buildings. Sharing the property with Aunt Jo’s are numerous buildings in various states of repair including the school Tom built exclusively for educating black children. more…
Kevin Broll has a history with barbecue; he’s run two restaurants and a roving food truck. Now his operation is based out of a converted former army barrack moved to its current location just outside of Victoria. The location screams “good food here” and the smell as you walk up makes your mouth water. more…
When Louis McMillan was nine years old, he learned to love cooking from an old gentleman he knew. He was about eighty and would dig a hole in the ground, put wood in it, and put a screen over it and cook lamb, a lot of chicken and some sausage. The passion for cooking would stick with Louis through college and service in Vietnam. more…
Ricky Mumphord spent a lot of time barbecuing at family reunions. It’s been a family tradition going back as far as he can remember; family gatherings always involved great barbecue. His father, Thomas “Uncle Sonny” Mumphord and his Uncle Manny were excellent cooks but they especially knew how to make meat. more…
Milton Neitsch, a doctor from Gonzales and grandfather of the current family, opened a restaurant in nearby Port Lavaca. Hamburgers and fried chicken were their specialty until Milton Jr., his son, realized that there were few nearby barbecue joints. In the 1980s Milton Jr. moved the business to Victoria and opened Uncle Mutt’s Bar-B-Q Co. more…
Our story of multi-generational history, diverse cooking styles and heat sources, new meats and sauces is served up fresh. Audiences across North America have been saturated with the same barbecue scene for half-a-century; but we promise to delight with a secret narrative that’s new to your audience. Let’s hope our residents don’t mind sharing!
Your Culinary Companions,
Victoria, Texas
(Explore Victoria, the CVB)
Joel Novosad
Explore Victoria Director
JNovosad@VictoriaTX.org
+1-361-485-3116 [Call]
Images, quotes, history and other research are available in our press kit.