It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since Meatings Barbecue founder Mat Flosse bought his first smoker. The Cumberland native had recently dropped out of university and wanted to capitalize on the reputation he had earned for making lip-smacking ribs and the juiciest pulled pork while cooking in his Dad's backyard for friends and family.

At the time, he asked his father for a loan to start a BBQ catering business, but his father had a better idea – he told Mat to sell his recently-bought car and buy a trailer with a pig roaster on it instead. He could then pull the trailer with his father’s truck which he agreed to lend Mat.

It didn’t take long for Meatings to take off as word spread about his product. Within a few months Mat’s brother Joey joined him and together they grew the business one customer and one event at a time.

By the end of that first summer Mat had made enough money to buy his own truck. He would add a second truck and a roaster by the following year.

The brothers were eventually joined by family friend Carol Hunt and together they opened the original Meatings restaurant on St. Joseph Blvd. Joey would eventually leave the business to pursue other interests, but Mat and Carol continued on together and within a few years they had outgrown the St. Joseph Blvd. location.

That’s when they moved the restaurant and the catering kitchen, which operated out of a second location on Youville Drive, and set up shop in their current location in the Canotek Business Park. To maintain their Orléans presence, they partnered with Broadhead Brewery and started providing their food to the taproom customers. The best part of the collab, Broadhead brewed two Meatings Barbecue Beers; Ribs & Brisket that pair perfectly with their meats.

More recently, they opened a second restaurant in the Richcraft Sensplex on Shefford Road which has two golf simulators on-site so patrons can play a virtual round of golf while enjoying their BBQ ribs, beef brisket, or pulled pork.

The establishment is also outfitted with a number of large screen TV's which makes it the perfect place to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs or whatever sport your heart desires.

While the new restaurant is already a massive success, Mat is still committed to the catering side of the business. After all, that’s the backbone, rib bone and pork shoulder of Meatings. It’s what put the business on the map and made the restaurants possible.

Besides running the catering side of the business, Mat gets some of his greatest satisfaction out of coming up with new menu items with his scratch kitchen team and hearing the feedback from loyal customers.

Anyone who follows their Facebook page can attest to the fact that they are creating new dishes on an almost daily basis.

Their most recent concoction was a Chili Cheese Sausage Poutine.

To help celebrate their 10th anniversary they are doing a number of giveaways with businesses that have helped them out along the way such as the Domaine Perrault Winery and Top Shelf Distillery. To learn more visit facebook.com/meatingsbarbecue..