History
In 1946, grandfather, Maurice, opened Maurice’s Real Pit Barbecue in Killeen then Harker Heights, as the first black businessman in the area. Growing up on a ranch, Snell’s grandfather never finished the fifth grade but wore lots of different hats before having a chance to open a restaurant which was his lifelong dream. Fortunately, because of his creative cooking talents, the restaurant became a big success.
Frequented by LBJ and Lady Bird Johnson, soon the young heartthrob Elvis Presley heard about the great food and along with his father, Vernon, and manager, “the colonel”, would drive the Cadillac down the hill, park out back and often eat there just to avoid being mobbed by fans. Maurice's reputation grew far and wide. The walls inside the restaurant became adorned with photos and notes from a Who’s Who of frequent patrons — celebrities and well-known personalities including recording artists such as Johnny Paycheck, Gregg Smith, Tyrone Davis, and the Bobby Blues Band, members of the Harlem Globetrotters and Houston Astros, Larry Sanders, actor Whitman Mayo – best known for Sanford and Son, and Dallas Griffin – the owner of the Dallas Blues Palace, just to mention a few.
By the time Glenn was 9, he began working in the restaurant tidying up, washing dishes, cleaning tables, and mopping the floors. By age 12, he’d been allowed to work in the kitchen alongside his grandfather doing much of the prep work while learning the basics of creating great barbeque. “Soon I was preparing the coleslaw and pinto beans, cooking the meat, and even chitlins,” Snell recalls.
This sauce has remained unique because only three people have ever known the recipe — Maurice, his son, and his grandson, Glenn Snell. Founding Mr. G Real Sauce, Glenn has now given a name and new life to this sauce with the launch of this historic sauce product lines. He has refined the original recipe and enhanced the flavor with other fresh and secret ingredients to give it its own unique taste and signature.
