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Meet Justin Erickson and Wes Hansen of Pork on a Fork BBQ & Catering in North and Central Phoenix

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Erickson and Wes Hansen.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Justin and Wes. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Justin and I were both in the mortgage industry back from 2003 till 2008 when the bubble bursts and we were stuck with what our next move would be. The last 5 years of doing nothing but mortgages put us in a hard place when the industry was in utter shutdown. While in our unplanned mandatory vacation, one of us went to the grocery store to buy some pork chops and just found some thin cut, not so good looking cuts of chops. One of our friends recommended checking out a farmers market for the chops we desired, but to no avail. There were none to be found here in Phoenix. So, it kind of clicked that Phoenix is missing out on true awesome deliciousness of Nebraska corn-fed pork that we raised back home on our 3rd and 4th generation farms. The difference is night and day to what we were used to back home. So, we headed back home to Justin’s farm and got his family’s opinion if we could buy and process 2 hogs to try and sell the all natural cuts in the Valley of the Sun. So Pork on a Fork was born, we started selling all natural cuts of pork; pork chops, bacon, brats, sausage and ham at a couple farmers markets a week and selling out in the matter of hours. We had to make the 22-hour trip back to Nebraska to pick up more in our down time. That was interesting to say the least. Over the course of a year or two, we grew to doing 14 farmers markets a week, from Tucson, Pinetop, ASU and Ahwatukee to name a few. Over the course of time, we introduced BBQ pulled pork sandwiches at the booths and it took a life of its own. We eventually phased out the cuts of pork and concentrated on the BBQ aspect. In 2010, we were very hesitant and nervous getting into the restaurant industry, so we signed a 1 year lease on a very small 5 table restaurant in a commercial warehouse on 15th Ave. and Deer Valley. It went crazy… we had a line out the door and down the sidewalk. The 5 tables filled up quick and people started eating on the hoods of their car, even in 107 degree weather. At the end of the year, we approached our landlords and joked with them that either we need to relocate or we need to kick them out of their spot in the back of the warehouse! They saw how busy we were and were very impressed with what we were doing. So, they got back to us the next day and said take it, they wanted to downsize anyway. They were like 2nd parents to us and saw our vision and really helped us where they could.

So, we revamp the back half of the warehouse to a huge dining room that holds 90 seats and been going strong there for 7 years now. In the meantime, we opened a 4,000 ft. catering facility that does corporate drop offs to weddings/rehearsal dinners 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Two years ago, we opened our 20th St. and Highland location and in the process of adding a patio in the near future. We are in Talking Stick Arena where the Phoenix Suns, AZ Rattlers & the Phoenix Mercury play.

Has it been a smooth road?
The restaurant business is an animal of its own. We grew up in the restaurant world (Wes’s grandparents had 2 cafes back in Nebraska growing up & Justin’s dad had a BBQ Catering company) so we had some influence, but we didn’t realize the amount of systems needed to run the business efficiently. We obviously learned along the way, but the saying “if only I knew this back when we opened the doors….” but we are happy that we have been as successful as we are and can only thank our customers, employees and the culture that our families instilled in us to do Restaurant 101 correctly.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
We do all our BBQ competition style, no gas/propane. We make all our sides from scratch and don’t cut any corners. Some of the recipes are directly from our families growing up and we really take pride in everything we do and it shows in the food, our employees and our customers. We are just a big family… it’s really a family business. Wes’ dad helps out on deliveries, maintenance and other odds and ends. Justin’s mom and stepdad help at events, painting and fixing everything that breaks. We have dads, his son and daughter work for us, we have sisters working together, so we really strive to have a great family culture and it is one big family.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Phoenix is becoming to be seen as a BBQ town like Austin, Kansas City and others. We really have people from all over the nation here and it really helps to experience different foods from everywhere in our backyard, so if you have an idea for something that reminds you of home, there’s a good chance you have hundreds of people that feel the same way and could really support everything you do.

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Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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