In the late 1800s of San Antonio Texas in Denver Heights lived a black man named George W. Dunn that worked on the railroad as a cook. He married a beautiful Spanish woman born in Mexico City named Raquel. My Grandparents George and Mama Dunn were successful entrepreneurs in the Denver Heights. One of their son’s Charles M. Dunn married Barbara J. Kirby the daughter of Arthur Kirby. Arthur Kirby was a well-known cook and worked on several big ranches in the San Antonio area. Dandy he was called specialized in BBQ and outside cooking.
My father Charles Dunn moved the family to Los Angeles and that is where my BBQ experiences began. As a young boy I remember holidays and special occasions when everybody in the neighborhood started their day lighting the charcoals and setting up the yard to BBQ. The whole neighborhood smelled like BBQ. These southern experts never shared their BBQ secrets with anyone. My advantage as a young boy was that all the experts were not threatened by my young age. But I was watching their every move how they mopped the spareribs with a concoction of saltwater mixed with vinegar or apple juice. They all finished the chicken halves and ribs with a bath of BBQ sauce to glaze the meat right before taking it off the smoker.
I signed up and started my apprenticeship at a 3-star restaurant named “Homer & Edy’s Bistro” it was located a short distance from Beverly Hills with a Louisiana white tablecloth menu. Homer a southerner would fly in fresh blue crabs, crawfish, red ear, and seasonings indigenous to New Orleans. Gumbo and baby back ribs were always selling out. Homer later became sick and died. The business continued and before long I was the executive chef.
“Chuck” has owned 4 successful restaurants all structured around Southern Cuisine. I moved to Germany in 2010 and married Andrea. We started, “Chuck’s Original Texas BBQ sauce” and “Chuck’s Diner” specializing in Authentic American Menu.
We entered our “Chuck’s Original BBQ Sauce” in the KCBS-Kansas City Barbecue Society international sauce contest in 2021 and we rank 8th in the world for the best BBQ sauce.
Coming from humble roots beginning in the Denver Heights it is only normal that we want to bring our BBQ sauce back to where it all began, “Texas” Is where my heart belongs, San Antonio. San Antonio Texas is a city with real history of the Alamo, cowboys on the range, and now a bustling city that many from all over the country are moving to.
Charles Dunn, “Chuck” is proof that with a humble beginning a Denver Heights seed can grow into a BBQ tree that spreads its branches across the planet. Our motto is “Just Taste the Love!” It’s the south, it’s San Antonio Texas a pattern that all should follow it would make the world a better place. Where you can walk on the board walk, smell the food cooking the laughter and at the end of a wonderful experience hear: “Y’all come back now!”
