Born to Grill Stories Meet Cole Wheeler

Q & A with Cole Wheeler

How long have you been in the industry?

CW: Well, I’ve been at BBQGuys for about four and half years. I started here as an outside sales representative and did that for about six months, working with mostly residential customers. I was actually still in college at the time and had a couple more months left before graduation, but the timing just seemed right.

What area do you specialize in?

CW: Right now, I'm a sales manager for the PRO team, so I manage the eastern half of the US for our reps—from Florida to Chicago and all the way up to New England. The PRO team oversees selling to contractors, builders, landscapers, and pretty much anybody in that commercial style space. It's our job to work with them, and to assist them.

You could call us a concierge service, but I prefer to call us consultants. We advise them on what to do and what not to do, as best we can. Our goal is to make their builds as seamless as possible while helping grow their business.

We mostly specialize in outdoor kitchens. We see a lot of the problems that come with building an outdoor kitchen—and a lot of the problems that builders will make for themselves. It’s our job to steer them in the right direction to avoid those pitfalls before they get to them.

What trends or innovations are you seeing in the outdoor cooking industry recently?

CW: Honestly, the pre-built islands have been huge lately. These islands have an instant impact and can be installed immediately after arrival. Plus, we’ve been able to secure great deals for our builders and contractors.

They take one-tenth of the time to build—maybe even less. And it probably takes about 5% of the time needed to do a custom kitchen island job. They really only need two people on the job site and a couple of hours. Even better, our contractors can do a pre-built and make close to the same amount of money on it.

How about trends specific to the business side of outdoor kitchens?

CW: There are actually very few true outdoor kitchen builders now. During COVID, there were a lot of people who created companies and were like, “Look, I just did this for myself. My neighbor saw it; his buddy saw it. I made an LLC. Now that's what I do.”

Nowadays, it's mostly custom home builders, maybe those who do outdoor renovations. The outdoor kitchen is typically the last thing that goes into a home. It’s often, “Paving's done, landscaping's done, let’s finish it with the outdoor kitchen and get out.”

So it's become more of an accessory to what people sell compared to a few years ago when many in the industry were actually taking on outdoor kitchens as their full specialty.

What inspired your passion for outdoor living and the backyard?

CW: I'm from Georgia and grew up north of Atlanta, but I’m actually an LSU fan because I lived in Baton Rouge for a while. The entire culture there revolves around football, which, no surprise, includes tailgating but also centers around being outside all the time. When you’re spending so much time in backyards, you really start to appreciate a great entertainment setup, especially when it takes the game-day gathering to the next level.

What’s the most memorable outdoor project you’ve worked on?

CW: We did a TV spot in our West Palm Beach Backyard Design Center last year, and it centered on featuring all the products that we sold, with a specific callout to our Twin Eagles appliances. It was pretty impressive to display everything. What was most impressive was a kitchen island countertop made of turquoise granite.

It was blue-green granite, beautiful and custom-flown in from Italy. It was amazing and by far one of the prettiest kitchens I’ve ever seen—it also probably cost more than my house! It was something special to see.

What’s your outdoor kitchen philosophy or design approach?

CW: It really just depends on the space. For example, if we’re talking about a galley-style kitchen, I like to try to keep the appliances separate from the refrigeration. If I can put the grill, griddle, or pizza oven on the back wall, then I’ll put the fridge and ice maker on the galley.

That's the way I want to do it. I like to group all the refrigeration together, and the same for the “warm stuff.” To me, an outdoor kitchen just functions better with all the appliances sitting next to each other—plus, it looks better aesthetically.

What’s the most common mistake people make when planning their outdoor space—and how can you help them avoid it?

CW: Obviously, the people we work with are builders and contractors, so they make different mistakes than someone simply buying for their backyard, but there can be overlap. For one, it's very common for people not to buy or install an insulated jacket in their combustible island that is framed with wood, which is a serious fire hazard.

Not exactly mistakes, but we get a lot of people asking our Pro team how to do something. When setting the appliance in place, they’ll ask, “How does it stay? How does it not fall?” We do a lot of instructing, so to avoid mistakes I always recommend watching instructional videos or calling the experts if you’re ever stuck. Don’t guess and pay the consequences later.

What's your favorite piece of outdoor living—and why?

CW: Favorite piece is definitely my griddle or smoker. If I were starting from scratch, I'd get a Blaze LTE+ Gas Grill with an infrared sear burner. And if I could pair something with it, I'd add the Blaze Griddle to match. If I were going to add something to that, I'd get the new Traeger Timberline Wood Pellet Grill. And now I’m just cheating, but if I get to bring a fourth piece into my yard, I'd get a kamado so that each grill type and cooking style has its own space.

What is your go-to grilling recipe?

CW: Well, my favorite food to cook is always going to be steak. It’s got to be a filet, maybe some bacon-wrapped shrimp. The recipe, though, has to be a reverse-seared steak with garlic and butter, plus salt and pepper. My recipe is simple—maybe not as “fun” as some of the more complex ones, but it’s just as tasty.

What’s on your grill playlist or backyard party soundtrack?

CW: If it's a summer day, I'll probably go with country music, something like the Zac Brown Band or a similar style. If we're talking about nighttime, maybe some 80s rock. Or if I'm cooking for people my age, I'll go with the Futurebirds radio on Spotify. Anything from Athens is gonna be the best thing to put on.