CHILLICOTHE If not for ill-fitting soccer shorts, Paul Buob might never have become a barbecue entrepreneur.
What started as a volunteer concession-stand fundraiser for athletics at Illinois Valley Central High School in Chillicothe evolved into SmokinGhost BBQ. Buob uses that moniker, based on the IVC Grey Ghosts mascot, when he competes in barbecue contests across the Midwest and South.
But it also is the brand name of barbecue rubs and sauces Buob developed. They re sold at supermarkets and butcher shops locally, as well as in at least 25 other states.
After spending 33 years working in information technology at Caterpillar Inc., this was not a sideline Buob planned. But the Chillicothe resident, whose job involves statistics and precision, appears to feed off smoked-meat unpredictability.
CHILLICOTHE â If not for ill-fitting soccer shorts, Paul Buob might never have become a barbecue entrepreneur.
What started as a volunteer concession-stand fundraiser for athletics at Illinois Valley Central High School in Chillicothe evolved into SmokinGhost BBQ. Buob uses that moniker, based on the IVC Grey Ghosts mascot, when he competes in barbecue contests across the Midwest and South.
But it also is the brand name of barbecue rubs and sauces Buob developed. They re sold at supermarkets and butcher shops locally, as well as in at least 25 other states.
After spending 33 years working in information technology at Caterpillar Inc., this was not a sideline Buob planned. But the Chillicothe resident, whose job involves statistics and precision, appears to feed off smoked-meat unpredictability.