Real wood only
Post oak, hickory & apple. No gas, no liquid smoke, ever.
Our story
The man.
The meat.
The myth.
Big Willy BBQ Spot started with one homemade smoker, one stubborn pitmaster and a whole neighborhood that kept "just stopping by". A decade later, the fire never went out.
Where it started
A backyard, a barrel.
In 2015, Willy turned a scrapped oil drum into his first offset smoker in a Clifton, NJ backyard. Every Sunday he'd fire it up at dawn — and by noon there'd be a line of neighbors holding paper plates.
Growing up between Southern cookouts and his best friends' family Eid feasts, Willy fell for two kinds of fire: the slow, patient smoke of Texas brisket and the fierce, fast char of a tikka skewer over coals. Big Willy BBQ Spot is what happens when you refuse to pick one.
Today the crew caters weddings, corporate events, graduations and block parties from Paterson to the Bronx — but every brisket still gets babysat overnight, every skewer still gets marinated a full day, and Willy still tastes everything before it leaves the pit.
— "Big" Willy
A decade of smoke
How we got here.
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2015
A backyard & a barrel
Willy welds his first offset smoker from an old oil drum in Clifton. The neighbors start "accidentally" stopping by every Sunday.
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2017
First wedding
150 guests, 220 lbs of brisket, one very nervous pitmaster. The bride's dad hugs him at the end of the night.
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2019
The rolling pit
We build the smoker trailer and start doing live tikka & kebab grill stations — BBQ meets the flavors of home.
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2022
1,000 events
From Hoboken rooftops to Bronx block parties, we cross a thousand events across New York and New Jersey.
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Today
Still low & slow
Same hands-on fire, bigger crew. Every cut still rubbed, smoked and sliced by people who give a damn.
What we stand on
House rules.
Hand-rubbed
Every cut trimmed and seasoned by hand the night before.
Two traditions
Texas pit craft meets South Asian tikka & kebab — halal options always available.
Loud hospitality
On-time, in uniform, and the friendliest crew at your event.
The pit crew
Faces behind the fire.
"Big" Willy
Founder & Head PitmasterBucket hat, black gloves, zero shortcuts. Has not slept through a brisket cook since 2015.
Tasha Monroe
Events DirectorRuns the timeline, the tables and the tight ship. Your event's best friend.
Rico Alvarez
Live Grill CaptainTikka whisperer. If it touches open flame on site, Rico's got it.
Aisha Khan
Sides & Sweets LeadThe reason people fight over the mac & cheese and the kheer.
Booking 2026 – 2027 dates now
Got a date? We've got the smoke.
Tell us when and how many. We'll send back a custom menu & quote within 24 hours.
