Christopher B. Stubblefield, otherwise known as C.B. Stubblefield or “Stubb,” was posthumously inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame at the World Series of Barbecue in Kansas City, Kanas, on September 14, 2019. Famed in the U.S. for a barbecue sauce which originated in a Lubbock restaurant he operated in the 1960s, the honor came 24 years after his passing.
Hailing from Navasota, Stubb began cooking as a serviceman in the Korean War. He served as mess sergeant for the last all-black regiment. After being honored with two purple hearts, he moved to Lubbock to open Stubb’s Bar-B-Q in 1968. He hosted such epic singers and musicians as Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Johnny Cash. And, he fed his crowds his famed barbecue. The restaurant was forced to close in 1985, after which Willie Nelson (a friend of Stubb) did his best to convince him to move the business to the Texas Hill Country. In 1986, he did just that, off I-35 in Austin.
Photo: Instagram/parapfinefoods
Five years later, Joe Ely, a Lubbock musician, was appearing on “Late Night With David Letterman.” He took a bottle of Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Sauce with him, and shortly thereafter, Stubb was asked to cook for the show’s audience and crew. During that appearance, he revealed that the secret ingredients to his sauce were “Love & Happiness.” Following his TV debut, the sauce became renowned and was sold in grocery stores across the U.S.
Photo: Instagram/stubbsaustin
Although Stubblefield passed away in 1995 as a result of heart failure, his restaurant reopened, including a music venue, one year later in a historic Austin location on Red River Street. It remains open to this day, serving up his fine barbecue and featuring such names as Snoop Dogg, Metallica, and James Brown on its stage. Stubblefield, himself, was also recognized in the Austin Music Memorial. The announcement that he would be inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame at the World Series of Barbecue, hosted at the Kansas Speedway, was made back in May of this year.
