Leonard Sr. was born and raised in China, Texas and moved to nearby Beaumont for high school. There, he discovered the unique regional dish known variously as grease balls, garlic bombs, or juicy links at legendary joints like Patillo’s and Broussard’s.
After a stint in the Army and a career as a truck driver, he recruited his son to help in opening a barbecue trailer in the Alief neighborhood of west Houston. When he moved Guillory’s Bar-B-Que into the larger storefront across the street he began working on his recipe for the links, made from family memories as well as a recipe from a legendary Beaumont pitmaster known as Big Foot. After some trial and error, Guillory Sr. now makes some of the best links in all of Southeast Texas.
