Que It up BBQ: Family Roots and Traditions Helps Food Truck Owner Flourish
Story and Photos by Jonathan Turner
Loan Product: Microloan & Small Business Loan
Loan Product: Microloan & Small Business Loan
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On a cloudless summer day, a tight rock band playing in a street festival, with a cold beverage, few things could be better than contemplating a heaping helping of Ultimate Fries from Que It Up BBQ.
Nestled in a thin blanket of aluminum foil, Ultimate Fries features a hot bed of fries topped with your choice of meat (brisket, chicken, or pulled pork), BBQ sauce, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and copious shredded cheese. It’s the spicy specialty of Ken Crite, the proud pit master behind Que It Up BBQ, a food truck that has become a staple in Aroma Park, Ill., about an hour south of Chicago. Crite, who grew up in the neighboring community of Hopkins Park, spent 30 years working for Kankakee Community College, including working in student services and 16 years as small business development coordinator within the Small Business Development Center. There, he helped countless entrepreneurs launch their own ventures, guiding them through the loan process, and offering support every step of the way. Crite decided to take his own entrepreneurial leap, inspired by his father -- a Southern cook who operated a barbecue restaurant in Hopkins Park who also served his food under a tent at church events until his passing in 2006. In 2016, Ken opened a Que It Up Café in Kankakee hoping to bring his family’s rich barbecue tradition into a new community. Despite his best efforts, the restaurant struggled in an area where dining out was less common, and his business closed in 2018. Undeterred, Ken pivoted to the food truck business, originally starting with a smaller unit. “It was a scaled-down menu, with the same recipes we had three generations ago. We tweaked a little bit, but not much,” Ken says, recalling how his paternal grandfather also had a Southern BBQ restaurant. His connection to Southern BBQ runs deep instilling the love for the craft in his family. His paternal grandparents were from Lincolntown, Georgia, where his father grew up, before his family settled in Illinois. His grandfather became a farmer, and after Ken’s mother passed away when he was just seven, he was raised between his grandparents and his father. Now, he’s passing down this rich family legacy by training his 19-year-old grandson to carry on family traditions in the food truck business. Ken’s current food truck, much larger and more equipped than the original, was made possible with the help of a small business loan from Bridge Investment. After self-financing his restaurant and securing smaller, high-interest loans for his first food truck, Ken’s bank recommended he reach out to Bridge Investment to help him expand. In 2022, Bridge Investment provided the loan that allowed Crite to purchase the larger truck, enhancing his operations by providing more room to prepare more items and expand his menu. “When I had the smaller unit, I had one large smoker that was a tow, so when I did events, I would have to pull the smaller rig there and then come back and pull the smoker. It made for long nights,” he says. |
The infamous Ultimate Fries by Que It Up BBQ. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Turner.
Ken Crite, Owner of Que It Up BBQ, in front of his new food truck, acquired thanks in part to Bridge Investment.
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The new truck, equipped with an exhaust hood and integrated smoker, enabled Ken to expand his menu, offering items like the now-famous Ultimate Fries, “It’s literally a whole meal in itself,” he says. Expanded menu items include BBQ ribs, BBQ tips, pulled chicken, and spicy homemade sausage links. Now, everything is right there in the truck allowing Ken to prepare a lot more.
The impact of Bridge Investment’s support is clear in the growth of Que It Up BBQ. By providing the necessary capital for the larger food truck, Bridge Investment not only helped Ken expand his menu and improve efficiency, but also enabled him to meet increasing demand at large events across the region. 2024 has been his busiest year ever. Two years prior, Crite worked at 18-22 events, and this year has topped 30 events already in just over half the year, including the his third year operating at a two-day Two Rivers Festival in Aroma Park, which runs each August. The largest event he’s been a vendor is the Matteson Festival in early July, attracting 5,000-7,000 people, in Matteson, Ill.
His barbeque has gained attention, even leading to an offer to open a new restaurant in a nearby town. However, Ken remains committed to the flexibility and enjoyment that the food truck offers. “It’s a lot – this is a lot easier,” he says of the food truck. “You don’t have to wait for the crowd to come to you. You go to the crowd. And it’s not a six, seven-day-a-week operation. You get time off and I set my own schedule.”
With three children, five grandchildren, and a close-knit family that includes help from his two ex-wives, the food truck is more than a business for Ken, it’s a passion rooted in family tradition. “It’s been in the family so long, and I really enjoy it,” Crite says. “So it’s not like work. People enjoy themselves. My grandma, she loved to see people eat.”
The impact of Bridge Investment’s support is clear in the growth of Que It Up BBQ. By providing the necessary capital for the larger food truck, Bridge Investment not only helped Ken expand his menu and improve efficiency, but also enabled him to meet increasing demand at large events across the region. 2024 has been his busiest year ever. Two years prior, Crite worked at 18-22 events, and this year has topped 30 events already in just over half the year, including the his third year operating at a two-day Two Rivers Festival in Aroma Park, which runs each August. The largest event he’s been a vendor is the Matteson Festival in early July, attracting 5,000-7,000 people, in Matteson, Ill.
His barbeque has gained attention, even leading to an offer to open a new restaurant in a nearby town. However, Ken remains committed to the flexibility and enjoyment that the food truck offers. “It’s a lot – this is a lot easier,” he says of the food truck. “You don’t have to wait for the crowd to come to you. You go to the crowd. And it’s not a six, seven-day-a-week operation. You get time off and I set my own schedule.”
With three children, five grandchildren, and a close-knit family that includes help from his two ex-wives, the food truck is more than a business for Ken, it’s a passion rooted in family tradition. “It’s been in the family so long, and I really enjoy it,” Crite says. “So it’s not like work. People enjoy themselves. My grandma, she loved to see people eat.”
