About Us

The Real Story

Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day. That statement has hung over me for most of my adult life. Every time I heard it, I would think about unicorns and rainbows rather than the real world. But, after decades of work for others, I finally get it.

I was born here in Winter Harbor when it had a Naval base where my father was stationed. After his discharge, I moved with my parents to NYC and was raised there. I also served in the Navy and worked mostly in the auto industry after I got out. First in sales and later as a trainer. But I always wondered what life would have been like in Winter Harbor. However, work and opportunities took me in different directions.

After one of those opportunities took me to live in the Carolinas for a few years, I became totally enamored with barbecue. I ate it, traveled to find it, learned the key differences, and ultimately began cooking that way. I even started experimenting with different spices for rubs.

As luck would have it, I had the chance to return to Maine and purchase the house my father lived in until he passed away. The town had all the trappings of Maine tourist attractions, but the rest of the year, it was very quiet. What could be crazier, and more fun, than to start a Barbecue Rub company in a coastal lobster village?  And so it began.

What if I could combine a love of barbecue with a Maine attitude? I would need to make a rub that had Maine flavors and could be used indoors when the weather was harsh. It had to be more than just a dry rub. Mainers like to have things with multiple uses. That’s the tradition and the common sense that makes everyone so resilient.

Blending standard rub spices with real Maine ingredients like organic blueberry powder, maple crystals, and even Raye’s Mustard (the oldest mustard company in America) helped create our original Down East Dinnah (pronounced dinn – uh) Dust. Later, we added honey crystals and chipotle to the mustard and blueberry, making our “Honey ‘n HEAT” flavor. And I loved every minute spent creating, mixing, bottling, and sharing.

Those two flavors carried us through 5 years of pretty steady growth, but larger space to grow into, just wasn’t available in the area.  After looking at locations literally everywhere, we found exactly what we needed in South Carolina.  What was the surprise was how fast we grew almost as soon as we arrived.

Today, Bub ‘n Mutha’s Gourmet Dry Rubs is available in over 250 stores and now serving Veterans at military commissaries.  With no end in sight, we hope to be in 300 + stores by the end of 2024 And 500 locations by the end of 2025.  Not bad for an ex-Navy man from a small town in Maine!

#WE’REMEATRUBBEDRIGHT