About Us - The Backyard Barbecue Store

The Backyard Barbecue Store was founded in 2003 by Dan Marguerite, also known as BBQ Dan.

Dan’s lifetime passion for grilling has roots that go way back to his father’s relationship with Weber Grille founder George Stephen. That passion turned into the creation of The Backyard Barbecue Store when Dan quit his job with the Chicago Board Options Exchange to become a grilling entrepreneur. To this day, Dan, along with his wife Melissa, run The Backyard Barbecue Store Showroom on the Northshore of Chicago, IL, in Wilmette.

Complete with grills, accessories, rubs, pizza ovens, indoor/outdoor kitchens for events and classes, and a beer/wine bar that include happy hour / lunch drink and food specials, the showroom is a destination place for Chicagoland and Northern Illinois.

The time finally arrived in 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, to expand Dan’s expertise of grilling, equipment and accessories to the entire nation. Dan, along with partners Manny Valdes and George Rafeedie, launched ShopBackyardBBQ.com to ship grilling essentials from our Backyard to any backyard in America.

While internet retailing is nothing new, it’s new to us. We want to do it right with the right amount of care and expertise that you deserve and expect.  We are starting out with a few Gift Box Sets and a some tools/accessories to get us going, but we will be expanding as we go and grow.

Thanks for visiting.

From our Backyard to yours,

Dan, Manny & George

Neighborly Flavor LLC