Off the Dock's Roger Vaughn on Legacy, Hard Work & What Truly Makes You Wealthy

Off the Dock's Roger Vaughn on Legacy, Hard Work & What Truly Makes You Wealthy

Roger Vaughn has done just about every job in the meat business — driving no-AC box trucks for his family's sausage company, running the supply chain that fed KFC, Popeyes and Church's, brokering chicken loads from his car during COVID, even delivering pizzas on the side. Now his name is on the building at Off the Dock Foods in Nashville. In this episode of Single Tree Nation, Roger sits down with Charlie Eblen and Derry Wells to talk about that wild career, why he calls himself "one of the wealthiest people in the world," and the BBQ philosophy that's carried him through it all: cook by feel, not by a thermometer. It's part business story, part pitmaster masterclass, part Friday feel-good — brisket trimming and fire science, the only three Middle Tennessee joints still cooking on 100% wood, a white sauce headed to retail, and a "Dinner for Two" that lands on two awesome options. CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold open 1:02 Show open with Charlie Eblen & Derry Wells 1:46 Meet Roger Vaughn of Off the Dock Foods 2:22 Inside Off the Dock: 70,000 lbs of poultry a week 5:19 A 1950s whole-hog sausage dynasty 6:43 No-AC meat trucks & a $20M business with no computer 8:41 GoldKist: feeding KFC, Popeyes & Church's 10:17 Going public & the Pilgrim's takeover 11:22 Butts Foods: building Nashville from scratch 12:12 The Dave story: an ex-con who built an $11M branch 16:27 Expanding across the South — and walking away (2018) 17:06 Burnout, nine months off, faith & a reset 19:09 Kelly's Foods & standardizing the chaos 20:48 Miami stories: Cuban coffee, dialects & a lost horse track 25:51 COVID: brokering chicken & delivering Jet's Pizza 27:31 The kitty litter plant in Dyersburg 29:05 The Off the Dock saga: "I don't want you" 34:41 "Every department was a Kramer" 37:15 Wealth, freedom & leaving a legacy 40:50 Sponsor: Dead Meat Society 41:51 Brisket debrief with Gary 44:22 The chicken Alfredo first date 46:17 Smoking at home on a Pit Boss (even at -17°F) 48:25 BBQ science: barometric pressure, wood & feel 51:04 100% wood vs. gas & liquid smoke 53:52 The economics of brisket: 99¢ to $8 a pound 56:17 "Barbecue is about feel, not a thermometer" 58:10 Dinner for Two: Ice Cube & Charles Barkley 61:50 Mac & cheese vs. baked beans 62:43 Building a sauce — and a white sauce going retail 65:58 Competition BBQ: Praise the Lard & Smoke on the Shores 68:16 Why a restaurant-great brisket can still lose 69:03 Roger's Friday feel-good closing ABOUT THE GUEST Roger Vaughn is a partner at Off the Dock Foods, a Nashville-based center-of-the-plate protein supplier (poultry, beef, pork and seafood). Off the Dock Foods: OffTheDockFoods.com | Office: 615-350-6170 (ask for inside sales) ABOUT THE SHOW Single Tree Nation is a Middle Tennessee BBQ show hosted by Charlie Eblen of Single Tree BBQ with co-host Derry Wells. Airs Saturdays 8–9 AM on ESPN 94.9 The Fan. Get on the show or say hi: 615-307-0120 | charlie@singletreebbq.com [charlie@singletreebbq.com] Sponsored by Dead Meat Society — "join the Society, stay soft." DeadMeatSociety.com Like, share and subscribe for more BBQ stories, craft and conversation every week.

Brandon Hoy: Building Roberta's Pizza, Michelin Stars at Blanca & Inventing the Bee Sting

Single Tree Nation sits down with Brandon Hoy, co-founder of Roberta's Pizza in Bushwick, Brooklyn — the wood-fired pizza institution behind the legendary Bee Sting, the two-Michelin-star Blanca next door, and ten locations across the country including the Roberta's inside Urban Cowboy in Nashville. In this episode, Brandon walks Charlie Eblen and Derry Wells through a 35-year hospitality journey: growing up in Napa, working the butcher counter at Ernie's Meats, cooking at Roy's Kahana in Hawaii, bartending his way through New York City in the early 2000s, and opening Roberta's in 2008 with a borrowed pizza oven and a vision for a Brooklyn community watering hole. He shares how he learned to make pizza from a dump truck driver in a small Italian town, why their Pavazzi 180 was the first wood-fired pizza oven of its kind in America, and how the legendary Bee Sting pizza — soppressata, Calabrian chili, and honey — predates the entire hot-honey-on-pizza trend. Brandon also goes deep on the craft: barometric pressure and dough, hardwood selection and leopard blistering, why wood-fired pizza isn't really about smoke, and the mistakes home cooks make with backyard pizza ovens. He talks honestly about the burden of Michelin stars, the Dave Portnoy / Barstool One Bite era, and why "fun" is the most underrated word in a modern restaurant pitch deck. Plus — Brandon's official ruling on pineapple on pizza, the Beastmaster pizza that shouldn't have worked, the sweet potato pizza that didn't, and his Dinner For Two pick (1980s Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert). In this episode: -Growing up in Napa, Hawaii line cooking, and NYC bartending -Opening Roberta's in Bushwick with $0 and a borrowed pizza oven - Learning Neapolitan pizza in Italy from a dump truck driver -Why Roberta's became "a pizza place that served beer instead of a bar that served pizza" The Bee Sting pizza and inventing hot honey on pizza -Earning two Michelin stars at Blanca — and the burden that comes with them -Wood-fired pizza science: heat, hardwood, hydration, and humidity -Pineapple on pizza, the Beastmaster pie, and the sweet potato pizza that flopped -Dinner For Two: Bourdain and Eric Ripert in their '80s prime What's next for Brandon and Roberta's Connect with Roberta's: 🍕 Website: robertaspizza.com 📍 Locations: Brooklyn, Nashville (inside Urban Cowboy), and more 📸 Instagram: @robertaspizza 🎙 Single Tree Nation — real conversations, single takes. Hosted by Charlie Eblen and Derry Wells. 🌳 Part of the Spread The Positive Network. 📻 Catch us every Saturday morning on ESPN 94.9 from 8–9 a.m. 📧 charlie@singletreebbq.com | 📞 (615) 307-0120 👍 Like, share, and subscribe so you never miss an episode. #RobertasPizza #BrandonHoy #BrooklynPizza #WoodFiredPizza #BeeSting #MichelinStar #PizzaPodcast #SingleTreeNation #SpreadThePositive #NashvillePodcast #BushwickBrooklyn #PizzaMakers #RestaurantBusiness

From Sandwich Shop to Texas Monthly Top 5: John Bates of Interstellar BBQ

Charlie Eblen and co-host Derry Wells welcome John Bates of Interstellar BBQ — the Northwest Austin joint that landed at #6 on Texas Monthly's Top 50 — for an hour on the craft, the grind, and the genius behind one of Central Texas's destination barbecue spots. John breaks down trading an eight-year scratch sandwich shop for brisket, the fleet of pits behind the smoke (from his beloved "Big Merc" to a Brazilian-built "True Bomb"), why post oak is the terroir of Central Texas, and the signature peach-tea glazed pork belly that became a very good problem. Plus: the 2 AM start to a 21-hour cook day, turkey as the unsung star of Texas barbecue, free beans, and the now-legendary "make your beans from scratch" gut-punch from Texas Monthly's Daniel Vaughn. CHAPTERS 0:00 — "I'd rather be busy than broke" (cold open) 0:42 — Welcome back to Single Tree Nation 1:43 — Sponsor: Toast POS 3:05 — Meet John of Interstellar BBQ (#6, Texas Monthly Top 50) 6:15 — The bean confession: Daniel Vaughn's scratch-beans rule 10:29 — Pork belly in the charro beans ("supercharged bacon") 13:03 — Origin story: scratch sandwich shop to barbecue 15:09 — The pits: Big Merc, Moberg & the Brazilian "True Bomb" 20:00 — Why post oak — the terroir of Central Texas 20:45 — Break / Dead Meat Society 22:20 — "How do you know it's done?" Cooking by feel 27:59 — The 2 AM start & 21-hour cook day 30:51 — Turkey, lamb & duck in beef country 32:40 — Mac or Beans? 35:31 — The peach-tea glazed pork belly 38:33 — Where the name "Interstellar" came from 41:00 — Dinner with anyone: the first person to eat an oyster 45:10 — What's next for Interstellar 46:54 — Barbecue classes coming this year 48:13 — No gatekeeping: why sharing recipes is good 52:01 — How to plan your visit (get there by 9:30) 54:09 — The "Interstellar Trinity" tray 54:38 — Free beans (up to a pint, on the house) 56:04 — Friday Feel-Good 57:00 — Where to find Interstellar 59:10 — Outro Find Interstellar BBQ: Northwest Austin (near Cedar Park), TX Open Wed–Sun, sells out ~3:00–3:30 · IG/Twitter/Facebook @InterstellarBBQ Single Tree Nation airs Saturday & Sunday, 8–9 AM on ESPN 94.9 The Fan. Hosted by Charlie Eblen (Single Tree Bar-B-Que, Murfreesboro, TN) & Derry Wells. Email: charlie@singletreebbq.com · Phone: 615-326-0120 · Like, share & subscribe. #Barbecue #BBQ #InterstellarBBQ #TexasBBQ #AustinBBQ #SingleTreeNation #BBQPodcast #Brisket #PorkBelly #TexasMonthly

"You Only Get One Shot" — Ernest Servantes of Burnt Bean Co. on Live Fire, Manifestation & Hitting Home Runs

Charlie Eblen and Derry Wells head to South Central Texas for an unforgettable conversation with Ernest Servantes, co-founder of Burnt Bean Co. — the Seguin-based craft BBQ joint that earned a spot on Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ Joints: 2025 Edition. Ernest opens up about what it really takes to cook with live fire: the patience, the time, the feel, and the obsession with detail that turned a small Texas pit operation into one of the most talked-about names in American barbecue. From "you got to look good to cook good" to "you only get one shot — you got to hit a home run," he doesn't hold back on the mindset that drives the craft. He also shares a story you don't expect from a BBQ episode — about the spirit that lives at the pit, a presence named Andrew, and why the passion and love that goes into every cook is bigger than any picture of the food.

Live from The Trailer Park: Lebanon's Food Truck Hub with Heather, Camila & Erin

Charlie and Derry take Single Tree Nation on the road this week to The Trailer Park — Lebanon, TN's first permanent food truck park, just off Highway 109. 20+ trucks, a barn-sized event hall, fire pits, a playground, weekly bingo with 100+ teams, and a PB&J beer from Knoxville's Zool that outsells everything else on the bar. We pulled up a picnic table and sat down with three of the people making it run. Featured Guests 🍩 Camila Lopez — The Burro Churro (@theburrochurro) A year into the food truck life and one of the original Trailer Park residents (since mid-November). LA transplant turning a family churro recipe into traditional churros, churro bites, filled churros, churro sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, and the Dubai Strawberry Cup (chocolate-pistachio cream + crunch). A second trailer rolls out in April — book it for events, weddings, and pop-ups via Instagram. 🐟 Erin Powell — My Sister's Keeper Mobile Kitchen Run by Aaron's mom and her four sisters — five-strong sisterhood serving up southern comfort straight out of grandma's recipe book. They used to run a brick-and-mortar called Granny's Kitchen before the building changed hands. Opened day one at The Trailer Park (October 31). The salmon patties will make you call your grandmother to apologize. Hospitality runs in the family — most of them are caretakers by trade. 🏡 Heather McConnell — Owner, The Trailer Park (gotothepark-tn.com) Heather and her husband (a dentist) moved from Oregon, where food truck parks sit on every corner like Starbucks. She looked around Wilson County, saw nothing like it, and decided to build one. Pitching the concept to Lebanon's planning commission — "they looked at us like we had four heads" — was just the first hurdle. Bought the land in '23, broke ground in '24, opened October 31, 2025. Now bingo nights fill the room, regulars stake out their lucky tables, and the PB&J beer sells two kegs a week. Trailer Park Hours - Mon–Thu: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. - Fri–Sat: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. - Sun: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. - 🎯 Bingo Wednesdays • Live music select nights • Nonprofit nights 📍 Just south of I-40 / Hwy 109, Lebanon, TN - 🌐 gotothepark-tn.com — Instagram, Facebook, TikTok Friday Feel Good "Learn from everyone, but don't let anyone think for you." — Dr. Jeremiah Johnston Brought to you by Dead Meat Society — deadmeatssociety.com. Catch Single Tree Nation Saturday & Sunday mornings on ESPN 94.9 The Fan. Like, share, subscribe, and we'll see you out there. Y'all be good.