Meet Dominic Gonzalez of Dom’s Barbecue in Downtown Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominic Gonzalez.

Dominic, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been cookin since an early age, I would help my Grandmother in the kitchen when needed, so that’s where I caught the cooking bug. I went to the culinary program at Metro Tech in high school then tried the culinary arts program at The Art Institute of Phoenix, where I dropped out twice and left the culinary industry for a different trade.

I switched to being mechanic but still dabbled with cooking as a hobby, having dinner parties and barbecues for friends. I was in that industry for well over a decade, then in 2011 I entered a tailgating competition and did very well, after that event I kept working on my barbecue skills and entered another competition in March 2012 and took 1st place where I won a pellet smoker. After the success of those two competitions, I decided to form a competition team and entered several more competitions which culminated in a 1st place finish in the Inaugural ASU Tailgate Championship and another 1st place in Ribs a month later. With the success of my competition I decided to start a catering business with my cousin who was also on the team. That’s when we made Dom’s Barbecue, we wanted to change the street food culture here in Phoenix, which we started to do, but in January 2014, my cousin and main business partner died of a sudden heart attack at 32 years of age, it was a devastating loss to the team, but we carried on in her memory as best as we could. We had already made an impact in a short period of time so the work never stopped and as time passed we gained more followers and events, eventually ending up being the main food provider at Grand Arthaus for 1st Fridays and at Cobra Arcade for Mowtown On Mondays and many other venue and events around town. Since that time, I have left the mechanical industry and opened a couple of failed projects and now reside at Sazerac on the weekends.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It definitely has not been smooth. Losing my business partner was a major setback, then building a barbecue business from the ground up presents all of the hurdles you could imagine, I also had a major health crisis in 2016 and had to start over with business when that was over, not to mention my best friend and grandfather died within months of my health issues and both were heavy influences in my life and career. The two failed projects that I worked hard for taught me quite a bit about the restaurant industry, both happened in a matter of months.

Dom’s Barbecue – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Dom’s Barbecue is a barbecue and taco catering company specializing in street food, we are most known for our brisket tacos and barbecue parfaits amongst many other tasty creations, we have ties to the art, music, and automotive communities where we do many events. Our food has been served at some of the best events for the past five years. The overall quality of our product sets us apart like none other!

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is happiness! You can make all the money in the world but if you’re not happy what’s the use? It also comes from within one’s self, nothing will bring you true success of you can’t find peace within…

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stakintacos.com
• Instagram: Instagram@stackintacos Instagram@doms_barbecue

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