page_title: Mission BBQ
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mission BBQ / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Landsdowne Centre
context_page_description: Mission BBQ is an American barbecue restaurant chain based in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Bill Kraus and Steve Newton opened the first location on September 11, 2011, as a way to support military, police, firefighters, and first responders. Unlike many barbecue restaurants, Mission BBQ does not specialize in any one regional barbecue, and instead, offers a variety of regional meats and sauces.
context_section_description: Bill Kraus, a former apparel executive, and Steve Newton, a former restaurant executive, started with the concept of supporting military and public response forces, and then decided to go into the barbecue industry. After doing some market research throughout the United States, they opened the first Mission BBQ in Glen Burnie, Maryland on the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
  They opened another Mission BBQ in Perry Hall, Maryland the following year before recording growth numbers of three new restaurants in 2013, nine in 2014 and 2015, and 17 in 2016. Growth spiked sharply post-2017, with the company planning an expansion strategy of 20 to 25 new locations a year, all privately owned and financed through M&T Bank and Goldman Sachs.
caption: A Mission BBQ franchise in Fairfax County, Virginia
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