Our story

Bearded Barbecue is a husband and wife catering & pop-up team made up of Akil and Sarah Zakariya.

We were your typical working family until the pandemic hit and BOOM - unemployed. We each lost both of our jobs and were scrambling to find income, just like many of you. Akil had taken up grilling and smoking as a hobby and decided to turn it into a business. Everything starts out small and slow, so we continued to work other jobs while getting our business off the ground. We planned and brainstormed what Bearded Barbecue could be and where it could take us.

A year and a half later we decided to take this head on, full time. Sarah dedicated her time to building the brand and booking our events as Chief Curator. Akil has maintained his part time job all while becoming the Meat Maestro and making incredible barbecue.

We have a love for creating our own venture to support our family, friends and community. Tap in to support a local, grassroots, family business that is black-owned.