Faces of 501: Jeremy Guerrero
Faces of 501: Jeremy Guerrero
Jeremy Guerrero, food service, Kanza Cafe, has worked for Topeka Public Schools for the past eight years. On a daily basis he works with his wife, Sylvia, and together they own the barbecue business, JLG BBQ. Their schedule of barbecue events can be found on their Facebook page.
“I used to hang out with my grandpa when we would barbecue
for the family. I watched him and asked how he knew when it was time to flip
the food and when it was done. I took a foods class in high school and a got a
job at Johnny’s BBQ in Kansas City. The years go by and it seemed like I was
getting better at it, so I grilled out with my grandpa and he told me how good
it was and that I did an awesome job, which meant the world to me. 18 years ago
I bought a smoker and everybody loved it, and my grandpa said you have to take
this BBQ to another level, so three years ago I started barbecuing at a friend’s
bar and grill, last year I bought a food station and this past March I got a
concession trailer. I can share my food with the public and meet all of the
great people of Topeka. The best thing is having this business where my wife and
I are doing this together, it’s challenging to find time to spend time with our
family, we both work fulltime and run the BBQ business on the weekends. It
makes me feel really good when they like my food and especially when they are
smiling and say that they will come back for more. I would tell students to
follow your dreams and make them happen, there’s going to be that opportunity
and when you see it, feel it, TAKE IT and run with it and be the best at it.
You will have to put in the time, hard work, but it will pay off in the end. If
that’s what you love, IT WILL PAY OFF IN THE END!”