 JANUARY 2 • 2020 | 35

J

ack’
s Roadside BBQ 
in Clarkston catered 
a much-talked-about 
lunch for guests this fall 
at Durfee Innovation 
Society, formerly a 
Detroit public school. 
On Nov. 7, the first 
Metro Youth Club in 
Wayne County was dedicated 

at Durfee. The club was 
named in honor of U.S. 
Sen. Carl Levin and 
U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, 
both retired, and Detroit 
philanthropist James 
Comer. They joined fel-
low Durfee alumni, stu-
dents, family members 
and friends at the celebration. 

Obviously, the club’
s dedica-
tion was a huge deal, but what 
about that memorable lunch? 
“
At the Durfee event, we 
served jerk chicken, brisket, 
pulled pork, pit beans, slaw and 
mac and cheese,” said Trevor 
Aronson, 45, of Clarkston, the 
owner of Jack’
s Roadside BBQ. 
He and his wife, Angela, have 
four children.
Aronson’
s barbecue food 
truck and catering operation is 
based in Clarkston. His truck, 
parked on Dixie Highway, 
is open from April-October. 
Otherwise, Aronson caters 
out of his commercial kitchen 
“for anywhere from 20 to 300 
people — from football tailgate 
parties to weddings.”

Describing her meal at 
Durfee, a guest noted that 
“his brisket had a really good 
char with deep smoke lines. It 
smelled great and was very ten-
der. The chicken, too, was very 
smoky, tender and a bit spicy.” 
This weight-watching com-
mentator added that her one 
bite of Jack’
s mac and cheese 
was “very good and had lots of 
cheese. The meal had a smoky 
smell you could sense from 
outside the room.”

A FAMILY TRADITION
Aronson named Jack’
s 
Roadside BBQ for Jack 
Aronson, his father and men-
tor. Jack and Trevor’
s mother, 
Annette, were co-founders 
in 1998 of Garden Fresh 
Gourmet. Best known for 
its salsas, Garden Fresh in 
Ferndale employed more than 
400 employees at its peak. 
Campbell Soup Company kept 
the manufacturing facility in 
place after buying the business 
in 2015.
According to Trevor, 
“the purchase was part of 
Campbell’
s ill-fated strategy 
to diversify its product lines.” 
In February 2019, Campbell 
announced Garden Fresh 
Gourmet would be sold.
Three years before founding 
their company, the Aronsons 
opened Clubhouse Bar-B-Q in 
Ferndale. A popular salsa recipe 

Esther Allweiss 

Ingber 
Contributing 
Writer

eats | drinks | sweets
eats | d i
ri k
nks | s
Nosh

Passion for 
Barbecue
Trevor Aronson honors his dad and 
serves up delicious smoked meats.

COURTESY OF JACK’
S ROADSIDE BBQ

Trevor Aronson 
and his father 
Jack Aronson

continued on page 36

