On February 23, Jason Ganahl, the owner of GQUE BBQ, took time to speak to the boys leadership class at Broomfield High about his story and the development of his restaurant, GQUE BBQ (on the southwest corner 120th and Sheridan next to Chipotle and Starbucks).

He started by entering BBQ competitions as a judge, but seeing the excitement of it, he decided to compete. After a few competitions, Ganahl won, and, as time went on, he found himself stacking up the BBQ accolades.

Jason Ganahl, makes his way to Broomfield, Colorado from St. Louis, Missouri where he began his career of making BBQ. With St. Louis roots, Ganahl was inspired by local restaurants as well as watching tv shows and learning how to cook. He explained that he learned to become better at cooking through “practice, practice, practice.”

After he moved to Colorado, he was encouraged by the prospect of opening a restaurant here in town. Growing up, he never had any plans of opening a restaurant. In fact, he started out as a high school science teacher, but after a year his passions led him to switch paths.

After recently opening in November of 2015, GQUE has already achieved multiple state and national awards. Many people ask Ganahl if and when he will open a second GQUE BBQ, but, for now, he said, “Maybe in the next two years, but right now I’m happy with just the one. I like the way things are going, and I like to wake up in the morning to go to work and make sure everything is in place. I like to know the food comes out well and people enjoy it. If I start out building more, then it’s hard to make sure that people who come in are happy with what they get because I will not be able to go to every restaurant to make sure everything is at the high standard I want.”

Ganahl is excited to be a part of the Broomfield community, and for the students and teachers out there, he is offering a free side with the purchase of the Carolina or the Pork Sandwich. Bring your family out today and enjoy some championship BBQ from someone who is proud to be a part of our Broomfield community.