From Sauce to Seasoning: The Ultimate Black-Owned BBQ Guide
Every cookout has an MVP. Sometimes it’s the brown leather sandal-wearing uncle mastering the grill, or sometimes it’s that favorite cousin you haven’t seen all summer. More often than not, the BBQ MVP brought the potato salad—because you know everybody has to ask who made it before they even consider heaping a few spoonfuls on their plate!
As Labor Day approaches, The Root put together the ultimate BBQ guide to help upgrade even the most Blackity-Black backyard cookout. From smoky and sweet BBQ sauces to fiery rubs, tangy seasonings and everything in between, these are the Black-owned brands to add to your shopping list before you fire up the grill this Labor Day.
Kyvan Foods
Founded by NFL player Reggie Kelly and his wife, Kyvan Foods offers gourmet BBQ sauce flavors you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else! Their flavors include sweet potato, cherry apple and honey apple, and they’re known for pairing perfectly with both meats and veggies alike.
Kyvan also offers fish breading for seafood lovers, and a pound of southern-inspired BBQ dry rub to make your dishes even more mouthwatering.
Deuce’s Seasonings
Looking for all-natural, low-sodium seasonings? Search no further, as Deuce’s Seasonings—a health-conscious line of seasonings—is where flavor reigns supreme.
Founded by a mother-and-son duo, Deuce’s boasts gourmet seasonings for the ultimate BBQ culinary experience, featuring Garlic Shmarlic, Something Spicy, and Flava From the Himalayas seasonings to upgrade your BBQ lineup.
SGT. Hart Habanero BBQ
SGT. Hart Habanero BBQ is a Black-owned, veteran-owned, woman-led family business specializing in handcrafted sauces for the BBQ lover in you.
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Their spicy lineup is a perfect addition to wings and pulled pork, and includes a variety of heat level options from medium to extra (for those who like their sauce hot and don’t mind questioning their life decisions). On the sweeter side, they also offer a delicious honey bourbon variation, Burbanero, in 22.4 oz. bottles.
Capital City Mambo Sauce
Capital City CEO Arsha Jones is bringing that Washington, D.C. staple to those outside of the nation’s capital!
From sweet hot to mild mambo options, that classic mambo sauce can be shipped to your door for your Labor Day cookout and is the perfect way to spice up just about everything on your menu, including fries, wings, ribs and grilled vegetables.
Sienna Sauce
Your grilled chicken doesn’t have to be boring—and Sienna Sauce is proof. Created by entrepreneur Tyla-Simone Crayton, who was featured on “Shark Tank” in 2020, her signature sauces bring a youthful twist to the cookout and are versatile enough to take chicken, wings and even burgers from “pretty good” to “Who made this?”
From “Sweet and Tangy” to “Lemon Pepper” to “Smokey Brown,” you can marinate your protein in all of her sauces before guests arrive, glaze for the grill, and enjoy a little on the side for dipping afterwards.
Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque
It’s National Pickle Day, and around here, every day is a good day for pickles.
We keep them ready for you to enjoy with every plate of our world-famous BBQ.
Tell us—are pickles a must-have when you come to Arthur Bryant’s? pic.twitter.com/vL617KF69o
— Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque (@ArthurBryantsKC) November 14, 2025
Arthur Bryant’s brings Kansas City flavor to everybody’s backyard, making it an easy pick for the person who believes ribs should be smoky, saucy and absolutely impossible to eat politely.
His food—fit for Presidents Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama—comes highly recommended, especially since his famous Brooklyn platter, complete with brisket, pork, turkey, wings, cornbread, sides, and more, can be shipped directly to your front door.
