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Welcome to Sunland News—the news that feels like the good old days when you could leave the house with no phone, no money, and somehow return with a plate of food, a borrowed video game, and new friends.

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One of my goals with Sunland News is to highlight the real people in our community—business owners, teachers, leaders, and everyone who makes this place thrive.

Earlier this week, we had the chance to interview Stoney’s BBQ, a true cultural staple in our community for more reasons than just the amazing food.

Stoney’s has been "closed" for a little while now, but for a good reason—he’s preparing and prepping for bigger and better things very, very soon.

He shared with us his journey into the restaurant business and, at the end, revealed where he plans to set up shop next.

Without further ado, here’s a snippet of the interview in written form.

P.S. The full video interview will be released today on Sunland TV. This written interview is just a small piece of this amazing conversation.

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📚 Read Time: 5.97 Minutes

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Interview

🔥 Stoney’s BBQ Announces New Fort Pierce Location

SLN:
Tell us, what’s the journey been like?

Stoney:
I got in, I had success early. Ultimately, I jumped way out there, like, okay, I'm ready for the big leagues. So I went at that. And when I jumped out there, I realized—even though I knew going in that it was going to be a lot of work—I wasn't ready for the seven days a week, every day, some months breaking even. You know what I mean? Everybody getting paid, but I wasn't ready for that part of it, that growth part of it. Like, even though I heard about it, you don't really understand it until you go through it yourself. So going through that part now, it's like, okay, now. And I dial back, and now I'm going into it with that knowledge, understanding what my happy medium is. And I think I'm finding that now with the spot I'm going to now.

SLN:
So you're saying, once you went to the bigger spot in Sabal Palms, that’s when you started to realize just how much work this would take?

Stoney:
Yeah, I feel like that could have been successful, that could be successful in that area. But I feel like that spot in particular wasn't worth the money. It was overpriced with it being up in a corner. You are buried between Publix and Staples, and you come up in a corner and they want to overcharge you like, you out on front street, like, they want to charge you because they say people are gonna use Publix and Staples. But they come to Publix and Staples.

SLN:
Yeah, they're not coming necessarily to walk around, see what else is around, in the area.

Stoney:
They are not doing anything to, like, make the plaza appealing to make people wanna stay out there, hang out there. You know what I mean? They ain't doing none of that kind of work. But they looking for top dollar. They want top dollar for the space, which is why the space was empty for eight years before I got into it.

SLN:
Oh, so it was vacant for eight years?

Stoney:
For eight years prior to me being in. And I see why.

SLN:
As one of the first Black business owners in that plaza, how were you treated given the limited presence of Black-owned businesses in that area?

Stoney:
I think they could have done more, but I don't think it's color why they didn’t. I don't think it’s because I'm Black. I think they just treat everybody the same, pretty much. They are about their dollar. They are about the dollar.

SLN:
They only see green, basically?

Stoney:
That's it. That's it. It don't matter what you do or who you are.

SLN:
How long has your business been operating since its official start date?

Stoney:
All right, we'll go back to the house. I mean, we talking 15, 20 years ago.

SLN:
Oh, wow.

Stoney:
Yeah. Started with a fundraiser for my son's basketball team. And the fundraisers did pretty good, you know, but I was really cooking, you know, for the fellas on the weekend. Football. We used to hang out, play poker, and hang out on the porch. So I was getting my little skills up that way, you know, at the crib, always inviting people. Always a lot of people to the house. And then, like I say, trying to do a fundraiser for my son’s basketball team. We did it, sold out pretty fast. So I was like, well, damn. It was, you know, it was time for school to almost start. So I was like, let me try this again to make some extra money for school clothes. Cause, you know, me and my wife, we were just working, you know, working, working family, four kids. So, you know, we just trying to make a little extra money. Did it. We sold out quick, and it's like, we kind of started it as a once-a-week thing, you know, twice a week. And then, you know, of course, got to the point where people won’t allow you to keep getting that. They called the people on us. So we had to step up, get licensed, which led us to. Eventually led us. We went out on the corner to the church, the corner on 13th, which led us to the store on 25th & D. So that was our first time being legit inside a building. So when we got there, we was there for two years. And, like, we ran it up. We ran it up at the store and, you know, that was a good time. But, you know, everything reaches its point. So once it got to that point, it was time to go to the next step, which is us going to Sabal Palms. But I really believe that I skipped a step. I should have gone food truck then building, but I felt like the end goal is always the building. Get the building. So I felt like, why even entertain the food truck? But I would have had so much more comfort with the food truck because I could have really only moved when I wanted to.

SLN:
The entire hood, they really do believe in you. So I get why you skipped the food truck.

Stoney:
Right? Makes sense, right, right. And I felt like that more like my confidence had me feeling like I could and I did. It ain't like I went and just flopped. I mean, we were talking almost, almost three years over here. We've done almost three years in Sabal Palms. So, you know, and we could still be there, actually. But I would rather reset and start over. You know what I mean? I think it was best for me, so, you know, because that is for somebody, just not for me. If I was a younger man, I would still be right in Sabal Palm Plaza. But I'm getting older, so it's like, man, like, my time is more valuable. I want to free my time up. I want to be more in control of my time. I don't want to work seven days a week. I want to have more of a system where I can work when I really want to. Like, I work, you know, but not all the time.

SLN:
Have you said where the new spot is gonna be, or have you announced it yet?

Stoney:
Well, I'm announcing it now. Okay. 25th & Avenue I. Man. We're gonna set up right there on the corner. 9912 North 25th Street, Fort Pierce. We'll be there hopefully in the first week in September.

SLN:
Being from Sunland, man, I just wanna tell you, appreciate you for the Sunland News, for sure. You wanna be literally one of the first people to interview you. Cause, like, we really do, like, over the hood. Hold them in a higher ground, bro. So, like, really appreciate you coming through.

Stoney:
For real.

SLN:
For real.

Stoney:
No doubt, man. I appreciate y'all for having me, man.

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