@GaryAndShannon - Small Business Shout Out

On Thursdays, we like to do our small business shout out and once again revisiting here is Axiom Kitchen, Smoked Meats and Barbecue. Welcome back, Keanna Williams and Ian Mafnas.

Thanks for coming back in you guys, we appreciate this.

Thanks for having us.

Thanks for having us again.

One of the reasons that you're here is the the third annual now third annual Long Beach Barbecue and Music Festival, and you guys are helping host it.

This is a fun weekend. It's this weekend.

Yes, next weekend.

Next weekend.

Oh, I'm sorry, I have my days mixed up some anyway, not important, so next weekend. So this is like you can bring the whole family, you bring the kids. It's a whole weekend Old Day event.

Tell us about it.

Sure.

So it's gonna be Friday and Saturday, May twenty third and twenty fourth, from twelve to nine pm at Shoreland Aquatic Park in downtown Long Beach. We're gonna have a free kids area, We're gonna have whiskey tasting at.

The kids area.

Definitely help with naptime adjacent to the kids for sure.

And we're gonna have live performances by local artists. We're gonna have thirty of the best barbecue vendors in Sokel representing all the different types of barbecue, Southern Carolina and Keli barbecue.

I go to Kansas City once a year, and I've heard the comment of, well, don't you get sick of barbecue? No, because, like you're stating, and which is the case. Barbecue has done so differently in so many different ways that it's kind of like a different food group depending on where you go to get your barbecue.

And the best part is everybody has like their idea of what like the perfect barbecue is, so they'll.

Be like these arguments like, no, we like it with sauce. No, we like it without sauce.

And I think that's one of the most beautiful things about barbecue is that it's like so diverse.

Well, sometimes, like on a Tuesday, I don't want the sauce, but by Thursday, I'm in a sauce mood. You know.

Tell us about the history of Axium Kitchen.

So.

Axium Kitchen is a restaurant Keanu and I started back in twenty twenty two. It was we got married in twenty twenty one, and then I smoked a brisket and I brought it to her and she was like, where'd.

You get you?

She married you before she had the bristol.

Of course, of course, Wow, I thank you.

Keeping it secret? Okay, yeah, how do you keep your briskele? It's an advanced move.

So and then she was like, where'd you get this? And I was like the backyard. And she was like, oh my god. We got to do something with this. So we started Axiom, and we started as a pop up and then we got a shared kitchen and the barbecue Vessel was a birthday for Axiom and we had it at Trademark Brewing in Long Beach and too many.

People showed up.

This looks a good problem to.

Have, right definitely.

So the next year we had it at Shoreline Aquatic Park and that was last year and we had thirty five hundred people show up on one day.

Wow. And I told her, I said, we got to do two days next year.

So this year it's two days and it's also hosted by a Nozark Foundation, which is a nonprofit we created to honor our late son, Noah, who passed away by gun violence. So all the proceeds will go to Nose Art so we can continue to help in the just experiencing homelessness, families and transitional age youth as well.

How long do you smoke your brisket for?

Sixteen hours?

Sixteen hours? That is dedication. You can almost taste it.

He was a pecan wood, upple wood, and white oak.

Wow.

I think I'm partial, but I think his is the best brisket I've tasted.

Well, that's what you're supposed to say, but it sounds like it. Did he talk about the brisket at all. Before you marry a little bit, you're start.

Like I am, like, I cannot get over this.

He literally sprung it on me and he was like here it tastes, and like, wait, who made this?

Yeah? I did.

I was like, because like, if you do a good brisket, that's part of your personality, right, you know, like that's something I was gonna say.

That would be a first date thing, right, second date maybe? Yeah?

All right?

So I mean this idea that putting together this thing for now two days and again it's next Friday, Yeah, next Friday and Saturday, the twenty third and twenty fourth, twelve to nine down at the shoreline, Aquatic Park. You have some buy in from some amazing rather restaurants in here. I mean all second to Axiom in terms of there's

Last year everybody sold out. It was wow.

So apparently people really love barbecue, and people love the different types of barbecue, and everyone has their own signature that they do. Like we have Smoking Rubens doing brisket bombs and Texas Twinkies. We have Kleifa's Barbecue doing his version of brisket and crispy pork belly. We have mcgea's who's been in the game for a long time bringing his signature brisket, and I guess.

We have vegan options too, Oh yeah, right, right, of course, it's Southern California kind of at this point.

Actually fresh off the yacht bringing the vegan fair for the vegan individual so that way can be inclusive as well, because that was one of the problems last year's we didn't have any vegetarian or vegan so I think we would have some gluten free options as well.

I'm shocked that somebody would go to a barbecue place that was a vegan and be like, what are the options for me? Like, that's wild, that is freaking any but any place else other than California. If you're old, like, look at you like you're crazy. What is a Texas twinkie?

Texas tinky is a halopenion that's been split up in stuff with brisket and wrapped with bacon.

Stop twinky about that? Oh my gosh. They do us all the time in Texas.

So that's like a big Texas style hallopen you'll popper plus Yeah, that's amazing plus plus.

Plus I'm personally looking forward to trying it now.

I was just gonna say that, Yeah, you know what, It's funny how you hear things and you just know you're you're meant to hear them. I was meant to hear that.

Texas a couple of quick websites to tell people about. Obviously Axiom Kitchen bbq dot com. That's your website, but tickets for the third annual Long Beach Barbecue Music Festival Long Beach bbqfest dot com.

This is where you can get tickets.

You can just search forard as well and find it there again next Friday and Saturday, Shoreline Aquatic Park there in Long Beach.

This fool's driving through downtown LA on the fives.

Going the wrong way.

An idiot.

He was not listening to the show. Obviously. I'm excited for this barbecue festival.

I will be in town that weekend, so I will I will definitely go to this Shoreline Aquatic Park. It is May twenty third and twenty fourth, Saturday Friday and Saturday Friday and Saturday twelve to nine pm. You can check out Long Beach Barbecue Fest dot com for your tickets again. Long Beach Barbecue Fest dot com barbecue, live music, community, fun place you can just dump your kids.

Well, you go have the whiskey. It's a whole thing. It's old to do.

Uh keana Ian. Thanks for coming in, good to see you, and best of luck next weekend.