Two Twin City food icons took top honors in their respective categories in the Virginia Living 2023 Made in Virginia Food Categories. Bristol Gardens and Grill was recognized for its line of homemade barbecue sauces and Southern Churn Ice Cream and Candy Shoppe won Best Homemade Fudge for the second year in a row. The winners were chosen through an online voting process. “We sent them one of everything and decided to see how the dust settles. I personally thought hot sauces had a better chance than barbecue sauces because they are so unique and flavorful. But the barbecue sauces are above standard. They are very, very good,” Matt Shy, proud owner of the Garden and Grill, said Friday. Shy offers four very distinct flavors headlined by the signature sauce, which is tomato-based with vinegar and a mix of sweet spices. The Western Carolina is a vinegar base sweetened with ketchup and spices, but has a more runny consistency, he said. South Carolina is BGG’s spin on a mustard based sauce and they offer an Alabama white sauce that is creamy and sweet. “I wanted Bristol to have a white sauce. It’s classically a chicken sauce, but it goes great with everything. We put it on our Cuban sandwich spread,” he said. The deli offers smoked pork, beef brisket, turkey and chicken, a variety of sandwiches, salads and sides, and the selection of homemade sauces is always available. Shy also makes six different flavors and strengths of hot sauce, all produced on-site from peppers grown in their own greenhouse. Established in 2018, Shy’s business underwent a major makeover during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Catering was a big part of my income stream. When COVID hit, we were in a lot of trouble,” Shy said. “I registered the brand with the USDA, became certified as a producer, and all of these recipes went through Virginia Tech and were approved for commercial sale.” While regular customers buy the sauces, he also sells them online. “I’m trying to stay relevant in a world that treats me like I’m irrelevant. I am constantly trying to re-imagine where I land in this world. It’s crazy,” Shy said. “The salsa project has been fun because we are all learning. “We know we know well, but getting people who aren’t in Bristol to try it is great. We are shipping sauces to Texas and California. That’s crazy, but people travel, come here and try it, find it on the website and send it in,” Shy said. The business is self-contained on a small Vance Street lot that includes his 700-square-foot kitchen/deli, dining rooms with picnic tables, greenhouses where he grows thousands of peppers and other vegetables, and outdoor smokers. “A lot of places that grow their own stuff use ‘farm to table,’ but our tagline from day one has been ‘farm to picnic table’ because I want everyone to feel comfortable,” he said. While Bristol Gardens and Grill is working to establish its name outside of this region, Southern Churn and its unique array of homemade fudge flavors are well known in Virginia and the US, but they certainly aren’t shunning the latest recognition from Virginia Living. “It’s amazing. It shows we’ve done a great job with our fudge. Our fudge chef does an amazing job and shows the quality of the products we offer. It’s humbling, but it’s a great honor.” said Tony Henson, operations manager for Southern Churn. “We do a lot of walk-in traffic, but we ship our fudge nationwide. We do individual sales through our website and we ship nationwide to a couple from different vendors in addition to what we do with Hard Rock,” Henson said. The fudge can be found at the Rock Shop at the Bristol Casino, the future home of Hard Rock, and is available at Hard Rock locations in Tampa, Florida, Cincinnati and Gary, Ind. “We’re going to get people to leave the casino and come here for more fudge,” he said. Southern Churn has operated on State Street for nearly nine years. [email protected] — Twitter: @DMcGeeBHC
Two Twin City food icons took top honors in their respective categories in the Virginia Living 2023 Made in Virginia Food Categories.
Bristol Gardens and Grill was recognized for its line of homemade barbecue sauces and Southern Churn Ice Cream and Candy Shoppe won Best Homemade Fudge for the second year in a row. The winners were chosen through an online voting process.
“We sent them one of everything and decided to see how the dust settles. I personally thought hot sauces had a better chance than barbecue sauces because they are so unique and flavorful. But the barbecue sauces are above standard. They are very, very good,” Matt Shy, proud owner of the Garden and Grill, said Friday.
Shy offers four very distinct flavors headlined by the signature sauce, which is tomato-based with vinegar and a mix of sweet spices. The Western Carolina is a vinegar base sweetened with ketchup and spices, but has a more runny consistency, she said. South Carolina is BGG’s spin on a mustard based sauce and they offer an Alabama white sauce that is creamy and sweet.
“I wanted Bristol to have a white sauce. It’s classically a chicken sauce, but it goes great with everything. We put it on our Cuban sandwich spread,” she said.
The deli offers smoked pork, beef brisket, turkey and chicken, a variety of sandwiches, salads and sides, and the selection of homemade sauces is always available.
Shy also makes six different flavors and strengths of hot sauce, all produced on-site from peppers grown in their own greenhouse.
Established in 2018, Shy’s business underwent a major makeover during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Catering was a big part of my income stream. When COVID hit, we were in a lot of trouble,” Shy said. “I registered the brand with the USDA, became certified as a producer, and all of these recipes went through Virginia Tech and were approved for commercial sale.”
While regular customers buy the sauces, he also sells them online.
“I’m trying to stay relevant in a world that treats me like I’m irrelevant. I am constantly trying to re-imagine where I land in this world. It’s crazy,” Shy said. “The salsa project has been fun because we are all learning.
“We know we know well, but getting people who aren’t in Bristol to try it is great. We are shipping sauces to Texas and California. That’s crazy, but people travel, come here and try it, find it on the website and send it in,” Shy said.
The business stands alone on a small Vance Street lot that includes his 700-square-foot kitchen/deli, dining rooms with picnic tables, greenhouses where he grows thousands of peppers and other vegetables, and outdoor smokers.
“A lot of places that grow their own stuff use ‘farm to table,’ but our tagline from day one has been ‘farm to picnic table’ because I want everyone to feel comfortable,” he said.
While Bristol Gardens and Grill is working to establish its name outside of this region, Southern Churn and its unique array of homemade fudge flavors are well known in Virginia and the US, but they certainly aren’t shunning the latest recognition from Virginia Living.
“It’s amazing. It shows we’ve done a great job with our fudge. Our fudge chef does an amazing job and shows the quality of the products we offer. It’s humbling, but it’s a great honor.” said Tony Henson, Southern Churn operations manager.
“We do a lot of walk-in traffic, but we ship our fudge all over the country. We do individual sales through our website and we ship across the country to a couple of different vendors on top of what we do with Hard Rock,” Henson said.
The fudge can be found at the Rock Shop at the Bristol Casino, the future home of Hard Rock, and is available at Hard Rock locations in Tampa, Florida, Cincinnati, and Gary, Indiana.
“We will get people to leave the casino and come here to get more fudge,” he said.
Southern Churn has operated on State Street for almost nine years.
[email protected] — Twitter: @DMcGeeBHC
[email protected] | Twitter: @DMcGeeBHC