Pea Ridge preps for bbq – Press Gazette

$The groundbreaking crew gets ready to dig at the new site for the Sonny's restaurant in Pace. Pictured are County commission chairman Sam Parker, members of the Pace and Santa Rosa Chambers of Commerce along with team member of Sonny's BBQ corporate and the ACG BBQ, LLC (franchise owners). [Ramon Rios\SRPG]$

PEA RIDGE — Breakfast will follow lunch in the Pea Ridge area this year.

Commissioner Sam Parker and Pace Chamber of Commerce CEO Nicki Qualls welcomed Scott Frantz and his management team from ACG BBQ, LLC, as they broke ground on the site of the new Sonny's BBQ restaurant, which will be located directly in front of Lowe's off Highway 90 in Pea Ridge. ACG BBQ, LLC, provided free redneck eggrolls — pulled pork and coleslaw in an eggroll wrap — and lunch was available for purchase.

ACG BBQ LLC owns 14 Sonny's franchises throughout northwest Florida and some in Alabama. ACG also owns an International House of Pancakes franchise that will go in next to the Sonny's restaurant, according to Frantz, when completed in August.

According to sonnysbbq.com, Floyd "Sonny" Tillman and his wife, Lucille, opened their first bbq restaurant in 1968 in Gainesville. Business grew and John Kirkpatrick became the first franchisee in 1977. Three years later, current Sonny's CEO Bob Yarmouth bought his first Sonny's restaurant. In 2014, Sonny's started its Random Acts of BBQ initiative to give a surprise bbq feast to people "who do good in their community." The nomination form is available on the website.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pea Ridge preps for bbq