Mr. Paul Gant Sr.
The story of Paul Gant Sr. is centered in the love of family and service to others. He worked passionately at all of his endeavors and also found the time to pursue his own enjoyments.Paul William Gant, Sr. was born in Port St. Joe, Florida on May 19, 1941. He grew up with a love of family and carpentry, which he learned from his father, and good ole family barbeque, taught to him by his Uncle, who owned a barbeque restaurant at the time.
At the age of 18, the draft was ongoing and Paul was selected. After serving his time with honor and distinction, he returned home to pursue those family instilled talents. First, he opened a cabinet shop in the back of his mother's home and to this day, those cabinets remain in several homes in the Port St. Joe area. He also opened a Barbeque shop on Main Street where he worked part time cooking and serving. The real magic happened in 1970 though. On August 8th, 1970, Mr. Paul Gant Sr. married Linda Ruth Martin and, to his union, Alisa, Paul II, and Shannon were born. Soon after he began working at Arizona Chemical but his passion for good food continued. He would cook his delicious barbeque and vegetables for his night shift workers, who consequently encouraged Mr. Gant to expand so that everyone could experience the wonderful flavors of his cooking. Once it began, the demand for Paul Gant barbeque grew at an unimaginable rate. His whole family got involved and soon, Mr. Gant found himself in search of a home for his barbeque pit. Paul Gant's Bar-B-Que was soon established at its current location on HWY 98 and Mr. Gant maintained his perfect quality and family sauce recipe, even while continuing with his full time job at Arizona Chemical, where he retired after 35 years. Since his passing on March 16th, 2015, his legacy of perfect home style Bar-B-Que is continues to be carried on by his wife and son. Paul Gants Bar-B-Que continues to be well known for excellent customer service and serving hearty size dinner plates with our mouth savoring sweet and tangy sauce known affectionately as “That Paul Gant’s Barbeque Sauce”. |