AUGUST 2, 2019, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A9
Betting it all on his BBQ
BY LAUREN MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Despite growing up in Ore-
gon, a state not exactly known
for its smoked meats, Keizer
resident Troy Campbell is no
stranger to barbecue.
His grandparents owned and
operated a restaurant in Port-
land called Campbell’s BBQ
for almost 20 years; they taught
their children and grandchil-
dren the family recipes.
“Barbecue, barbecue sauce,
backyard barbecues, all that has
been part of our lives for a long
time,” he said.
When his grandparents
moved to Portland to open their
restaurant, the rest of the family
slowly followed. “He (Camp-
bell’s grandfather) moved here
from Oakland to Portland to do
barbecue for a living and then
gradually the rest of the fami-
ly slowly started to make their
way north to Oregon,” he said.
For the last fi ve, years Camp-
bell was working for Coca-Co-
la and doing barbecue on the
side.
“Eventually, my wife en-
couraged me to just take it full
time,” he said, which is when
he opened his food truck Un-
cle Troy’s BBQ. “I’ve been in
the service industry for a long
time but the barbecue aspect of
it is new.”
The issue he had with his
previous careers was a he never
Keizerite
Troy
Campbell
shows off
a boxed
meal at a
Wednesday
Market
booth in
downtown
Salem.
Campbell
stepson,
Darius
(right),
assists in
the business
regularly.
KEIZERTIMES/
Lauren Murphy
identifi ed with the products he
was selling.
“Whether that product was
good or bad, it wasn’t my prod-
uct. I didn’t believe in it whole
heartedly,” he said.
The business consists mainly
of Campbell, his wife, his step-
son, Darius, and his stepdaugh-
ters; although, occasionally oth-
er family members will lend a
helping hand.
“He’s (Darius) the only one
who’s willing to wake up in the
morning with me,” Campbell
said.
Part of running a family
business is relying on one an-
other’s strengths. Campbell’s
wife, for example, is good with
the money, his stepson is good
with organization, and so on.
The food truck model is
working well for them, Camp-
bell likes the mobility, “I can go
places, I can be where the peo-
ple are,” he said.
Although there’s proba-
bly barbecue sauce running
through his veins, if he decid-
ed to settle down and open a
restaurant it wouldn’t be bar-
becue.
“It would be an accumu-
lation of all the things I’ve
learned since I started doing
barbecue and since I got into
the restaurant and food indus-
try,” Campbell said.
His top goal would be mak-
ing it a place for everyone, “it
would be a place for people to
just come and relax and hang
out,” he said.
Despite being in a competi-
tive industry, Campbell encour-
ages anyone with an interest to
give it a shot.
“There’s defi nitely room for
more,” he said. “It only makes
MAN CODE
Barbecue, barbecue
sauce, backyard
barbecues, all that
has been part of
our lives for a
long time.
— Troy Campbell
it better.”
Campbell derives his passion
for his business from customers.
“My favorite part about all
of this is probably the interac-
tion with the consumers,” he
said, then he pointed to where
Darius was working behind
him. “Having him here with
me is a huge plus for me.”
Campbell is excited to teach
him the things he won’t learn
in school. As a college drop out
himself, he’s no stranger to the
things the world teaches that
can’t be learned in the class-
room.
“I get to teach him how to
be an entrepreneur,” he said.
Campbell headed off to col-
lege after high school gradua-
tion, but he never settled in.
“College just isn’t for every-
one and I realized early on it
wasn’t for me,” he said.
Instead of school, he entered
the work force and began to
work on his skills as a salesmen.
“The things I didn’t get in col-
lege the hard work will make
up for,” he said.
He’s a fi rm believer that
the community should sup-
port each other, “Support your
neighbors and your friends;
they’re your schoolmates, your
kids are on the same football
team or baseball team, you go
to the same church. Every-
where you live, there’s a local
market, a farmer’s market, some
sort of local trade show, there’s
a showcase for local business
somewhere near everybody.”
Currently, Uncle Troy’s BBQ
can be found at the Wednesday,
Thursday and Saturday markets
in Salem “We’ll try to be more
places as time goes on but that’s
where we are right now,” he
said.
To book Uncle Troy’s BBQ
for catering, email Campbell
at uncletroysbbq@gmail.com
or call 503-505-8504; they
post barbecue pop up’s on In-
stagram and Facebook as Un-
cle Troy’s BBQ. Campbell can
serve events of around 150 to
200 people, but they plan to go
bigger as time goes on.
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IN STOCK
FORGET
B OUCHER
503-393-0701
4965 River Road N
JEWELERS
Monday – Friday 9 to 6
Saturday 9 to 5
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ALL PRICING IS VALID THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2019
B M
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DIAMONDS
Sam Goesch
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BUILDING MATERIALS
BARGAIN CENTER, INC.
3975 River Road North
Keizer, OR 97303
Bus: 503-393-6252 Web: SamGoesch.com
*At BUILDING MATERIALS BARGAIN CENTER, our stock is always changing and these examples may or may not be in stock at any given time.
775 FRONT STREET NE - SALEM - CALL US AT 503- 363 - 9070
State Farm , Bloomington, IL
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WorshipDirectory
These Salem-Keizer houses of worship invite you to visit. Call to list your church in our Worship Directory: (503) 390-1051
KEIZER CLEAR LAKE
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
a member of Open Door
Churches of Salem-Keizer
REV. ALYSSA BAKER, Lead Pastor
Services are Sunday at 10 am
(Nursery & Sunday School for Children)
7920 Wheatland Rd N • 503-393-2402 • www.kclumc.org
PEOPLESCHURCH
4500 LANCASTER DR NE | SALEM
503.304.4000 • www.peopleschurch.com
Father Gary L. Zerr, Pastor
Saturday Vigil Liturgy: 5:30 p.m.
Sundays: 8:15 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.
La Misa en Español: 12:30 p.m.
9:00 am
Children’s Programs, Student and Adult Ministries
1755 Lockhaven Dr. NE Keizer
503-390-3900
www.dayspringfellowship.com
and
10:45 am
Rev. Dr. John Neal, Pastor
Worship - 10:30 a.m.
Education Hour - 9:15 a.m.
Nursery Care Available
www.JohnKnoxPresKeizer.org
9:30 am
& 11:00 am
Sunday
Worship
Services
SUNDAY
SERVICES
4505 River Road N, Keizer • 503-393-4507
www.FLCkeizer.org
Sunday School - 9:00 am
Worship Service -10:00 am
452 Cummings Lane North • 393-0404
8:30 am • 10 am • 11:30 am • 6 pm
Faith Lutheran Church , ELCA
Pastor Linda Matz Easterling
John Knox Presbyterian Church
JOIN US FOR
SUNDAY WORSHIP
www.KeizerChristian.org