Today we’d like to introduce you to Regan Wickes
Hi Regan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story started like many BBQ joints do, it all started in my backyard. But, thinking back, mine started at a very young age. My passion for cooking outdoors came at a young age, around 10. I took an old propane grill (not working) and stripped it down so I could teach myself how to cook with charcoal and real fire. After that, I knew I was hooked. Throughout high school and college, when hanging out with friends and family or at big sporting events, I always wanted to cook and have people over to eat. I told myself, I would love to do this for a living one day. Now, saying that was like, if I were to win the lottery or something. But, I was nieve, my mindset when I was young was to become a dentist like my dad was. Unfortunately, I lost my dad when I was 8 years old to heart disease. As the years went on, I was dead set on following in my father’s footsteps. One day when I was about 13, my mom came to me and asked me, “Other than wanting to do what your father did, why do you want to be a dentist?” I did not have another reason why I wanted to be a dentist. I just felt since he was gone, that was what I should do, because I thought that would make him proud of me. My mom waited until I was old enough to understand what she was about to tell me. She told me that my dad never had the passion for being a dentist. He did it because his father did it and it would provide a financially secure life for us. My mom be said, “Your dad always wanted to be a Texas Game & Wildlife Warden or a Texas Ranger, because he loved the outdoors so much. That explained why we had cows, we hunted, fished, and spent most of our time outside. I do not even remember watching TV as a kid. After hearing this for the first time, I knew then that the dentist field was not for me. But, it made me realize my dad never chased his dream. My mom said, “If you want to make your dad proud, go do something in life that makes you happy, no matter what.” At that moment, not knowing what my passion was going to be or what dream I would chase. I just knew, if an opportunity is given to chase my dream, I would do it. I would chase something that I know I would love. As BBQ came along, I knew what I had to do for myself and most of all, my children. It is my responsibility to make sure my three little girls know to chase their dreams no matter what. Even if failure happens, do not live life with regret. So, my BBQ journey began. It took a lot of cooking bad BBQ to get to the delicious BBQ I am cooking today. The one thing that kept me going to be better was the passion and challenge behind it all. I kept at it in the backyard and tried to master my craft as best I could. The short story behind how I got to where I am today is nothing short of God blessing me with an opportunity I wasn’t even looking for or was even in a position in my life at the time to take on. My wife has been a long-time teacher for 25+ years. She had a colleague who knew I loved cooking BBQ. During the summer, my wife’s co-worker was getting her room ready for the upcoming school year and mentioned this to her husband. Being the go-getter he was, he walked right down the hall to my wife and asked her about my passion for BBQ. After a few meetings together and my partner at the time seeing my passion for BBQ, come July 2021, Wicked 3D Craft BBQ was born. Now, how did we come up with the name? Well, Wicked follows my last name slightly, Wickes. The 3D is after my three daughters; Delaney, Delyla, and Delorey. And there we have it, Wicked 3D Craft BBQ was set in stone. I was still working full-time and did not make a jump to full-time BBQ until April 2023. Going into BBQ full-time was very scary, but I had a good team around me and a very supportive family at home. So, my team and I ground through the rest of 2023 by learning a lot, growing, and landing some cool events with ATT Stadium. We were able to provide our delicious BBQ inside the tailgate area to fans during Dallas Cowboys games. We even got to be part of Luke Combs’s visit as well as Taylor Swift’s visit when they came to Arlington. So, with the new exposure and a lot of sleepless nights for me, I felt I was making a splash as the new BBQ joint on the block. In the summer of 2024, my current business partner at the time had to step away from the business. I was able to purchase and become the sole owner of, what is now, Wicked 3D BBQ. We’re still cooking the same “CRAFT” BBQ as before, but it was needed to tweak the name just a little bit after I became the sole owner. But, we’re going strong into the last quarter of 2024 doing the same great events for the Dallas Cowboys and growing new customers every day.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Most certainly not a smooth road. I mean, I have never met anyone who has owned a business, and it was smooth, especially in the food industry. With food being one of, if not the hardest industry to be successful in, the challenges were waiting for us. With me being the only one in the previous partnership with any food experience, cost budgeting, pricing, and catering sales. I had to be the backbone to make sure this business was profitable. My partner at the time was amazing from the beginning. He always made sure I had the right equipment, funds to purchase the top-quality meats, and a great truck and BBQ trailer to get this business off and running. The challenges were what I would think everyone goes through. How much are we spending, what are our profit margins going to look like, are we in a good location, are we getting enough catering booked, etc? The one thing that no one can prepare you for, even if they told you, is the amount of actual work you will have to put into this to make it have a fighting chance. For me, it was a reality check. I certainly was not afraid of hard work, but no job prepares you for the BBQ business of low and slow cooking. On average, I was and still are putting in about 100 hours a week. A normal day for me before we open the next day is I am up at 7 am to help get my three girls ready and off to school. Once they are off to school, I check emails, check stock to make sure all my orders are right, and then food prep begins. I will cook all night and maintain a fire in my smoker until the sun comes up. Then again, I help my wife get our girls up, ready, and off to school. I then will tow my BBQ trailer to our location in Pantego, TX, which is about 10 minutes from my house, and sell BBQ from 12 pm-9 pm or sold out. So on average, I am awake for about 40 hours straight over two days. I do this twice a week. So, there are the normal challenges that come with owning a business that are similar to most businesses. But, when it comes to BBQ, and the way I want to cook it, no one can come close to explaining how hard it is mentally to put out your best day in and day out.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Before I got into the BBQ business, for almost 10 years, I was a PGA Professional. Now, not a Professional Golfer, but a Golf Professional. 🙂 Now, do not get me wrong, I cashed a few small checks from playing golf competitively, but barely enough to fill the gas tank in my truck these days. After meeting my wife on the golf course, we got married and started having kids. The golf industry is not exactly family-friendly, so I decided to walk away from that and find a more stable job. Now, I know what you are thinking, “Oh, you work in the food industry. ” I know, not really family-friendly either. But, there was a huge difference, and my wife knew the passion I had for BBQ. She is the reason why this opportunity was even possible because she told me about interest from her co-worker’s husband. She knew I wanted to take a shot at this and was very supportive and still is to this day. I would like to say I specialize in BBQ, but I hope I am best known for how I treat people and my customers. I feel that is what truly sets me apart from others. I truly care about people. I just use BBQ as a platform to impact people’s lives. Food is always around. It is around good times and bad times. I just want to play a small part in someone’s life, whether it’s to celebrate a wedding or a newborn child or distract them from a moment of grief from losing a loved one. I use my passion for BBQ to reach people and to experience, which I hope, is the best BBQ and food they have ever had.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Are you referring to LA, California? If I had to answer that, I would say you have some amazing weather in LA. I have never been to California, so I really could not give an opinion on dislikes
Pricing:
- $32 per LB for Sliced Brisket
- $28 per LB on Sliced Smoked Turkey Breast
- $30 per LB on Bacon Burnt Ends
- $15 for a DOUBLE Wicked Brisket Smashburger
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wicked3dbbq.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wicked3dbbq/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wicked3DBBQ/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/wicked3dbbq
Image Credits
Dallas Cowboys
AT&T Stadium
