Spice


Family owned business in Izard County earns national reputation


BY JULIANA GOODWIN PHOTOS BY DEAN CURTIS


Y


ou wouldn’t guess it from the storefront, but in the back of Townsend Spice & Supply, proprietary blends and rubs are concocted for some of the nation’s largest or most


iconic barbecue joints.


Inside the retail store in Melbourne, you will find a variety of spices, rubs, barbecue sauce and other like products made in Arkansas (the owners of this family-run business try to stock as many Arkansas brands as possible).


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In this town of 1,800, proprietary rubs are mixed, packaged and shipped all over the country to be used in national chains like Whole Hog Café; Sonny’s BBQ, which has more than 100 locations nationwide; and for Mike Mills, who presides over four nationally acclaimed barbecue restaurants — two 17th Street Barbecue restaurants in Southern Illinois and two Memphis Championship Barbecue restaurants in Las Vegas.


People probably think Townsend Spice & Supply survives on walk-in traffic, but retail is only a small portion of what they do, said Shane Linn,


Living Well i January/February 2017 25


Townsend Spice & Supply, 725 East Main St., Melbourne. Call 870-368- 3688. Online: https://townsendspice.com/. They ship all over the country and have a satisfaction guar- anteed on their product.


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