BUSINESS AWARDS
2020 Business of the Year Dinner
Celebrating Local Businesses Big and Small
By Hayli Zuccola
On October 29 , 2020 , members of the Suwannee Chamber of Commerce gathered at Live Oak Church of God to take part in the annual Business of the Year dinner . Due to the ongoing pandemic and subsequent COVID regulations , attendance was much smaller than in previous ceremonies with roughly 50 guests present . Nevertheless , even the new normal couldn ’ t stop the Chamber from recognizing stand-out businesses and nonprofit organizations that have impacted the community .
> Large Business of the Year :
Big Wood BBQ and Grill
Established in 2013 by Ashton and Curtis Petersen , Big Wood BBQ and Grill has been serving up finger-licking barbeque in the form of ribs , pulled pork , beef , turkey and sausage to hungry patrons who crave the Southern favorite .
“ Our restaurant is unique because it ’ s a family-run business and we genuinely try to make sure our customers know that when they come in the door , they ’ re like our family . You ’ re sitting at our dinner table . We ’ re gonna treat you with love and respect like we do our family and we ’ re gonna serve you good food like we do our family ,” Ashton Petersen said .
Another facet that sets their restaurant apart is their dedication to using high-quality ingredients .
“ Curtis is really big on fresh ingredients ,” Petersen said . “ We don ’ t even buy chopped lettuce we cut up the lettuce ourselves . He ’ s very picky about what comes in and out of the restaurant . If something comes in and it ’ s not up to his standards , it ’ s sent right back out , so his quality assurance is ‘ you start with good ingredients , you serve good ingredients .’”
The home-cooked feel their menu has is also due to the use of custom-blended dry rub seasonings and a lineup of homemade sweet , hot , mild and gold barbeque sauces .
“ A lot of our items are made from scratch and we ’ re proud of it ,” she said . “ We make our own barbeque sauce . We make our own salad dressings . Our barbeque dry rub that we put on our meat is a combination of a lot of different things , but yes , we mix that all ourselves . We make our own marinara for the cheese sticks – we do a lot .”
Their made-from-scratch approach and family atmosphere are just two of the reasons behind Big Wood BBQ and Grill being named Large Business of the Year .
“ We felt completely honored like just humbled this community accepted us and we ’ ve worked so hard and we are successful because of this community and for them to vote for us was just , was just so rewarding and humbling at the same time ,” she said .
“ We would just like people to know how grateful we are as a family , like I said we ’ re a family-owned business , we ’ re so very grateful for everything this community has done for us , continues to do for us and we love to serve this community . We just are very appreciative and we welcome everybody to come sit at our family table .”
> Medium Business of the Year :
Jordan Insurance Agency
Jordan Insurance Agency has been serving the Live Oak community and surrounding areas since 1974 . Bruce Tillman joined the organization in 1999 and after becoming a minor partner in 2000 , he became the primary owner of the business in 2006 . As a full-service provider , the team at Jordan Insurance Agency helps clients find the affordable insurance coverage that meets their individual needs . While they specialize in multiple areas of coverage from home and car to life
98 SUWANNEE CHAMBER IMPACT | 2021-2022