Nine years ago Dave Deal was driving and passed a sign for a barbecue competition. The rest, he says, was history.
Deal and his cooking partner, John Brown, of Hockessin’s The Well Coffeehouse and Marketplace, took home the Grand Champion and Delaware State Champion awards at the Colonial BBQ Championship. The duo also won Best Ribs Overall, a title they last took home in 2011.
“We simplified our recipes and cut way back on ingredients,” says Deal. “We focused on making good BBQ and tried not to make it something it’s not supposed to be.”
Offering everything from pulled pork sandwiches to pastries, The Well is a non-profit owned by Trinity Community Church. Deal, who’s been barbecuing for about 30 years, ended up at there after being laid off from the job he was planning to stay at until retirement.
Deal says that Trinity Church—which is on pace to give away about $15,000 this year—calls the marketplace “the front door of their church.” For people in the Hockessin area, The Well is “a place where the community can come in and don’t have to worry,” he says. “It’s a safe place.”
More information:
The Well
6949 Lancaster Avenue, Hockessin
352-1717 • thewellde.com
