Here is the story of Tendarub
ur Story
Smoke!! Smoke!! Smoke!!
Tenda RubTM, the revolutionary, new, one hour rib tenderizing sauce was developed by Percy L. Square. Percy was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and grew up in the capital city of Baton Rouge. Against this background, the “GOOD EATING” tradition of South Louisiana was as deeply rooted in Percy’s cultural DNA as was Mardi Gras and New Orleans Jazz.
While practicing as a patent attorney in the Washington D.C. area, Percy became intrigued by the “chop and go” fast food model that drove the success of charcoal rotisserie chicken joints that peppered the greater D.C. area landscape. Several times a week Percy joined the hundreds of lunch-goers who lined up to get a hearty serving of chicken, cole slaw and steak fries. The tasty birds churned out continuously off of charcoal fired rotisserie ovens and were always fresh. The lines moved incredibly fast. Over the course of time, Percy’s dream was to own one of these restaurants.
So what does that have to do with ribs?
Still working as a patent attorney, Percy began seeking out the highly prized recipe for Peruvian chicken. He was also toying around with various ways of how to tenderize ribs. Percy understands that the profitability of a restaurant is related to a high demand for the product, the time and money it takes to prepare that product. Peruvian chicken joints have the mastery over this model. Just chicken, only two sides (steak fries & cole slaw), drinks from the fridge, and styrofoam plates. It gets the customers in and out and the food is always fresh.
Michelle, Percy’s wife, wanted to add ribs to the menu although Percy resisted because of the process of marinationg. The problem is that the process for marinating and tenderizing ribs for commercial profitability is not cost-effective. Up to twenty four (24) to forty eight (48) hour marinating times require a lot of refrigeration energy. The cost of manpower is also through the roof! Then you have the cooking time (up to 12 hours or more of slow cooking). That adds up to a lot of dollars in gas, coal, wood, electric or other power. That is a reason why many commercial establishments gave up a long time ago trying to cook their own ribs. Instead, they have resorted to buying pre-cooked ribs from smokehouses, and then heating them up in the kitchen of the restaurant to fill orders. That’s right! When do you ever see any smokestacks billowing out smoke at the restaurants where you go to eat ribs? How old are the ribs you get? That’s why people prefer doing their own ribs at home. People want fresh ribs with real smoke flavor. And, they get all the fun of an ol’ fashioned backyard barbecue. That’s how to tenderize ribs.
Back to the story
The owner of a profitable Peruvian chicken joint in Northern Virginia agreed to work with Percy & Michelle to get a restaurant started in Georgia. Percy & Michelle packed up their family moved to Georgia, an area that was “ripe” for such a business because of the high Latino population. They found the “perfect location” and went through the planning process for the build-out, and everything was ready to go. Then the bad news came. The economy had begun to crash, and the bank had changed its mind about giving them the loan. Percy & Michelle were in deep despair, but remained prayerful. Neither of them had been successful in obtaining employment in Georgia, and had been in anticipation of and reliance on the business getting started. They had exhausted all of their financial resources. They received some help from their families’ to keep the dream alive. In the end, it was not enough.
Nearly broke and in deep despair, Percy & Michelle drove the Appalachian mountain roads to attend their daughter’s graduation from the University of Virginia in May 2007. During that trip, they met with the owner of the Peruvian chicken joint in Northern Virginia. He provided a lot of helpful advice, but was unwilling to part with the recipe. However, during their conversation, he unwittingly provided a few clues. While in Maryland, they also received encouraging and prophetic words spoken to them in the home of their pastor, David Miller.
After returning to Georgia, Percy and Michelle tried the recipe based on the clues that he and Michelle were able to extract from the things they saw and heard. The chicken tasted fine, but was lacking something. Meanwhile, two more lending institutions denied loan applications. Their state of despair deepened, but they remained prayerful.
On the next morning, Percy, full of sorrow, walked into his closet and fell on his face. He was too crushed to utter a single word, but just lay there, prostrate, to commune with God, and to reverence Him. Within moments, he heard a voice that whispered the name of an ingredient. Immediately, he knew that it was the voice of the Lord, and that it was the missing ingredient for the chicken recipe. It was not the same ingredient that any of the Peruvian restaurants use (you can’t find it in any of the Peruvian chicken recipes on the web). It worked! The chicken was marvelously delicious. When Percy broke the news to Michelle, they were both overjoyed that perhaps God would grant them their dream after all or why else would he give them the missing ingredient?
Loving the flavor, and renewed with hope, Percy decided to try the recipe on the grill with several racks of pork ribs. He was not thinking tenderness, but only flavor. He started a low smoldering fire, and was prepared to replenish the charcoals after the first hour. However, the first hour never came! After about 30 minutes, Percy grasped one of the rib racks with tongs to flip them over. The ribs were so tender they broke in half! What? What? What? He was in shock and disbelief.
Over the next few days, there were many racks of ribs cooked in the Square’s backyard. The process of eliminating ingredients (reverse engineering) began. Success! It was the very ingredient that Percy heard while in prayer!
The rest of the story is the history that you and I are making together every time we buy or use this heavenly product.
About the Owners
Percy L. Square, Esq.
Chief Executive Officer
Percy is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of SmokeMasters incorporated. He and his Jamaican born wife, Michelle, have five daughters, Tamara, Leah, Brittany, Candace and Jade, and three sons, Gabriel, Ethan and Michael. Percy, a U.S. Air Force veteran, is a native of Baton Rouge, LA. They are devout Christians.
Percy has to his credit over 20 years of experience in Law and business ownership. Percy is dedicated to providing outstanding customer satisfaction everywhere in any of our sites, marketing material, etc. His experience in process analytics and his prior business ownership provided the foundation for his proficiency in this arena. In the area of customer service and quality improvement, he is published in journals and publications including ASQC (American Society for Quality Control), Chemical Engineering Progress, and TQA (Total Quality Assurance). Percy has also given presentations on Quality Improvement at national conferences of these highly regarded institutions, including AIChe (American Institute of Chemical Engineers). Percy’s educational background includes Business and Marketing, with degrees in Engineering and Law. Percy is a member of the Virginia State Bar, and also the Patent Bar.
