From a backyard to Jordan-Hare Stadium, the secret sauce to this new business, is the sauce
By Troy Turner
Rommeo Holloway, until a year ago, worked in a factory making automobile parts. In fact, he worked there for 17 years.
Then one day he told himself, “I’ve got to do something different,” and the next thing he knew, Holloway’s BBQ had become one of the star attractions at Auburn University football’s storied Jordan-Hare Stadium.
And then, at Auburn basketball’s Neville Arena.
And then, at Auburn baseball’s Plainsman Park.
Even in parking lots around town, he found that he could draw a crowd.
Today, with the help of Auburn’s New Venture Accelerator, designed to help novice entrepreneurs such as himself, Holloway BBQ is poised for growth.
“Rommeo and Kimberly are terrific people, who have a terrific product, but who also have a great story to tell,” said Ward Swift, an entrepreneur-in-residence at the NVA who without hesitation sings their praises and how their entrepreneurial spirit is contagious. “Rommeo and Kimberly are building a business and having the time of their lives. They are a role model for others who may be afraid to take that next step to pursue dreams of their own. The life of an entrepreneur is never easy, but Rommeo and Kimberly are a testament to the courage it takes to reach out into the entrepreneurial world with nothing more than a belief that they could make things happen. And they are.”
First came marriage…
Rommeo and Kimberly both grew up in Lafayette, both now are in their late 40s, and both went to the same high school, but it wasn’t until they found each other on the Auburn campus did sparks fly. They got married seven years ago.
Then about two years ago Rommeo decided he wanted to have his own business. He and his brother kicked ideas around, and the one he liked most was a food truck selling what seemed to go over so well in his backyard cookouts.
“Everyone was telling me, ‘you should be selling this,’” he recalled about his barbeque and homemade sauce. “For me, it was really just time for a change. It was something I loved doing, so I thought, why not?”
He found a closed trailer and, when home from his job, began the process of converting it into a food truck. That was during the summer of 2022, and not until a year later in July 2023 did he finally have a food truck.
So how did the barbeque business get started without it?
Kimberly wanted to support Rommeo and his dream of starting a business, and she had an idea.
She has worked at the university for 26 years, starting out in student financial services and then for the last 17 years working in the athletics department with the Tigers Unlimited Foundation.
“I asked how could we sell in the football stadium. I made a call and was told, ‘we don’t have a barbeque vendor in the football stadium. We would love to have you!’
“Our original plan was to start a food truck, and since we already had a catering license, we were qualified to get into the stadium, and so we did!” she said.
Holloway BBQ made its first public appearance on Sept. 3, 2022, in none other than Jordan-Hare Stadium, the magical place both of them had known all of their lives growing up in nearby Lafayette and then moving to Auburn.
Rommeo laughed when thinking about that first experience of serving a crowd with 87,000 potential customers in the house.
“We’ve learned a lot since that first game,” he said. Serving at football games led to serving during gymnastics meets and basketball games at Nevell Arena, and then serving baseball games at Plainsman Park.
NVA’s helping hand
Rommeo and Kimberly share high praise for the New Venture Accelerator, a program jointly managed by Auburn’s Harbert College of Business and the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation to help aspiring business owners like themselves get their start.
Going from a grill on the backyard to serving in Jordan-Hare Stadium wasn’t as easy as simply adding a bit more sauce.
“We found out about the New Venture Accelerator through social media, on Facebook,” Kimberly said. “We saw where several people had attended one of their free workshops, so we signed up… And we learned a lot, in a small amount of time.”
They already had realized that starting a business could be overwhelming, facing health inspections, securing a commissary kitchen as required by law, and most of all: the paperwork.
“Starting out, there are a lot of things you don’t know, and the NVA workshops helped a lot,” Kimberly said, ticking off a to-do list that included formulating a business plan, building a website, obtaining all of the licenses required, and attending a tax workshop. “NVA helped us with all of that.”
“Ward helped us a lot by talking about marketing, getting recognition, and just getting our name out there,” she said, and likewise others at the NVA helped them learn the art of networking. “We can learn a lot from each other.”
Rommeo agreed. “Relationships, networking, speaking up – all that was big for me,” he said. “They tell you they are going to do everything they can to help you get to where you want to be. And they do!”
And speaking of relationships, Rommeo pointed out that, “When we arrived at the New Venture Accelerator for our first workshop, we were surprised to see Mr. Lou.” (Note: Dr. Lou Bifano is Director of the New Venture Accelerator). “We knew Mr. Lou was an Auburn man as he and his wife are two of our favorite customers at Plainsman Park. But we never knew of his affiliation with Auburn. He always talks about my sauce. At baseball games and at business workshops, Mr. Lou has always offered lots of encouragement and advice on our journey.”
So, is Rommeo enjoying his new work, and meeting all those Auburn fans? “It is one of the most fun things I’ve done in my life!” Rommeo, generally a shy-speaking salesman, said with a big grin. “I’ll be honest with you; I should have done it a long time ago!
“We are meeting people who are having fun. And they become regulars,” he said. “We try to get them in and out as fast as we can, so no one has to wait in line, but we also talk and have fun with them.”
After a full year of serving at Auburn’s largest venues, Holloway BBQ has branched out. The business now serves at other big events around town, caters, delivers special orders, and already there are tailgates lined up for the coming football season.
And yes, they’ll be back in Jordan-Hare Stadium, this time in two locations: behind Sections 1-2 on the lower east home side, and in the upper deck behind Section 57 on the home side.
Facebook (Holloway BBQ), they said, is the best way to find them online, and his email address is Rommeo36@gmail.com; or call: 334-444-4234.
Oh, and don’t forget to ask about the sauce.
“That’s what a lot of folks love best,” Rommeo said. “If people could drink it, I could sell it by the gallon!”
For more information about Auburn University’s New Venture Accelerator program, go to: https://nva.auburn.edu/
