Ben Mountain BBQ Sauce recently began marketing its signature sauce with Virginia Tech in 2017. It will be available for purchase at Saturday’s Lions Club Christmas festival at the Christiansburg Rec Center.
Marty Gordon
Contributing writer
When Betty Reed retired from Montgomery Regional Hospital after 22 years of service in 2007, she never thought her family’s favorite barbecue sauce would become so popular, helping to create a new business.
Reed had served as a patient representative and administrative assistant at the hospital. Her husband, Larry, had retired from the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Salem a few years prior. They were married in 2007 and moved to a new home on Bent Mountain.
Thus, the family’s barbecue sauce was born, getting its commercial name from the location it is made at—Bent Mountain. The sauce is described as being sweeter than others and is great for dipping or on ribs, chicken and even in meat loaf.
Bent Mountain Barbecue will be one of over 75 vendors at Saturday’s Lions Club Christmas arts and crafts festival in the Christiansburg’s Recreation Center.
Reed found herself making a “tried and true” recipe for the sauce, giving it as Christmas gifts to family and friends. That led to rave reviews and those individuals wanting more.
In 2013, she decided to take the next step of making her kitchen officially certified by both Roanoke County and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The recipe was then tested and approved by the Department of Food Science and Technology at Virginia Tech.
Reed said there is five reasons why she makes Bent Mountain Barbecue Sauce, and they all call them Gamma and Papa Tractor.
“What motivates us on a daily basis is our unconditional love for our grandchildren,” she said.
The profit from each jar goes toward each of those grandchildren’s college fund. So far, sales have not covered the cost for even one grandchild.
“But with every batch of sauce I make, I think of them. With every kettle of sauce I stir, I know they will do good things, accomplish much, and give back to the world. With your purchase of Bent Mountain BBQ sauce, you share in making that happen,” she said.
The sauce took a different route last week when Reed reached an agreement with Virginia Tech to label jars as the “official barbecue sauce of Virginia Tech.”
According to Reed, there was a very intense licensing process the couple had to deal with.
“We were fortunate to sign a contract with IMG Collegiate Licensing and Virginia Tech to manufacture, label and sell VT BBQ Sauce. However, having a signed contract does not automatically mean that one’s product will be purchased by the university and sold in campus bookstores. That has been my biggest disappointment. VT BBQ Sauce is not sold in the on-or-off campus bookstores at Virginia Tech. I’ve been selling it at various street fairs, local town festivals, on line and directly from my home,” she said.
With the addition of VT BBQ Sauce to their business, and continuing our Bent Mountain BBQ Sauce, it was necessary they find a co-packer to make the sauce. Now our sauce is made by Jamison’s Farm Orchard in Roanoke who has the capabilities of making sauce in a 100-gallon kettle.
“I was making it in a one-gallon kettle. With this change in processing, the sauce went through, and met all of the local and state requirements, as well as the Virginia’s Finest requirements,” she said.
The sauce has been recognized by Virginia Agriculture officials as one of the Virginia’s Finest products, something a moment of pride for Reed and her husband.
“I hope Bent Mountain BBQ Sauce will be our legacy for a very, very long time, and will continue to impact in a positive way, the education of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren…and who knows maybe for generations,” Reed concluded.
The company will host free tastings during this weekend’s Lions Club arts and crafts festival and is available for purchase. It is also served at the Bent Mountain Bistro and can be found at many local retail locations. The sauce can also be purchased online at: www.bentmountainbbqsauce.com.
