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| Updated: March 11, 2021, 3:03 p.m.
Marcus Jones said his Utah barbecue sauce and catering company launched in 2003, but it really began more than a century ago in Arkansas.
The Southern recipe originated with Jones’ great-grandfather, who passed it on to his grandmother Miss Essie. She passed it to her son, Manuel, who then launched the business with Jones a former University of Utah football player.
Miss Essie’s is one of dozens of Black-owned restaurants, food trucks, markets, caterers and producers in Utah.
A heightened push to back these businesses began last summer, when many consumers decided one way to fight racial inequity was to frequent Black-owned businesses. Since then, though, the focus has waned.