BASEHIT BBQ & CATERING

Anyone craving juicy flavorful ribs, chicken and sandwiches can go to BaseHit BBQ & Catering! The restaurant is currently owned by father and son duo, Tony and Anthony Garland.

The Garland family held barbeque reunions in their backyard when Anthony Garland was a young boy. Barbecuing was just a fun hobby, but then talks of starting a restaurant spurred the family. They eventually decided to create a catering business first.

After Anthony Garland had finished college, he found out his father had gotten laid off. They were able to start catering with the help of a cousin who rented his kitchen out to them. Four to five years later, they saved up enough money to open up a restaurant for their eager customers. Garland made sure that customers were satisfied with the food and the service.

“Everybody’s involved and we really work to make this thing happen,” Garland said.

BaseHit continues to offer catering alongside the restaurant and is known to use their signature “BASE” sauce when preparing their meats. Garland says that they use a wet rub instead of a dry rub to season and smoke everything. The wet rub naturally makes the meat juicier and more delicious.

Their seasoning has become so popular with customers that people began asking about buying the sauce to bring home. Garland has noted that they are also currently working on bottling their special sauce to sell in the near future.

The pandemic took a toll on BaseHit in April when they had to close down due to the uncertainty of the virus. However, after they were able to open again in May, customers came to their door and business was back to normal. The only difference is, now all employees get their temperature checked, masks and gloves are always used, and employees make sure to wash their hands.

In June, the Black Lives Matter movement erupted all over the world. It’s helped put so many other businesses on the map and made people aware of them, including BaseHit.

BaseHit’s success kept climbing when they won the Chicago RibFest two years ago. They were also the winners of the WingOut and were recently featured on WGN’s Chicago’s Best.

Garland said that he hopes to make the customers feel like they’re at a “barbecue at a baseball game.” Plenty of baseball memorabilia line the red walls of the restaurant.

The owners make sure their customers enjoy their time in their restaurant and know they’re being served high quality food. Their dedication to their work and their customers is what keeps them moving forward.