Texas transplant turns barbecue hobby into booming Utah business

TOOELE, Utah (KUTV) — Les Rhodes Jr. never imagined that his claim to fame would be barbecue, let alone a Southern delicacy that many people have never even tasted — oxtails.

“I was into oil and gas drilling,” the Texas native told KUTV’s Kristen Kenney.

In 2017, Rhodes moved to Tooele with his wife and three boys, just before Hurricane Harvey ravaged their home state of Texas. “We watched the destruction go on and all we could do was say, ‘Damn glad we’re not there,’” he recalls, adding that they didn’t want to go back after experiencing Utah’s fresh start.

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What began as a simple gesture—grilling for his kids’ football games—soon took on a life of its own. “People started asking, ‘You got sandwiches for sale?’” Rhodes says. He didn’t at the time, but the next day, Les BBQ was born.

Rhodes recalls the moment things took off: “I ended up making like $12,000 that second day, and I went to my wife and said, ‘We need to get a bigger pit.’”

His signature smoked oxtails, which he lovingly refers to as “candy red” due to their deep, rich color, quickly became a viral sensation on TikTok. Orders began pouring in from all over the country. “It was like hitting the lottery,” says Rhodes.

“We call this the oxtail carousel,” he says as he opens the door to a specialized smoker setup. “See their change in color,” he points out to Kenney. “We call it candy red.”

Today, Rhodes operates a storefront in Draper, Utah, and four massive pits in South Salt Lake. He ships out 150 orders a week across the country, with his oxtails often selling out within hours.

What started as a leap of faith has turned into a dream come true for Rhodes. “It was definitely a risk. We could lose everything or gain something from it,” he reflects. “It’s all about taking a chance.”

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