For over 80 years, Bear Creek Smoke House has remained a family affair. Robbie Shoults, the grandson of Hick and Nellie Shoults, continues to honor the traditions that made the business successful. Their commitment to providing top-notch customer service and superior-quality smoked meats has been the cornerstone of their success. The smokehouse boasts a massive 16,600-square-foot General Store, which offers a wide range of unique gifts and memorabilia. If you’re a BBQ enthusiast, you will appreciate the selection of mouth-watering smoked meats and sides. It is a true Texas treasure.

Bear Creek Smokehouse is dedicated to providing customers with top-quality smoked meats and exceptional service. The company is committed to expanding its product offerings and continuing to innovate to stay ahead of the competition. The recipes used by Bear Creek Smokehouse have been passed down through generations, with the present generation adding some new recipes. Over the years, the company has expanded its product line to include smoked meats, cheeses, sausages, and charcuterie. Bear Creek’s menu features a range of smoked meats that are cured with a layer of pepper and smoked using distinct types of wood. The meats are smoked to perfection, resulting in a unique and delicious taste that customers simply can’t resist.

Bear Creek Smokehouse is commemorating its 80th year with a 3-day anniversary bash beginning on October 26th. The event promises to be a delightful and exciting experience, featuring a diverse range of activities and entertainment that everyone will appreciate. Here are some highlights of the upcoming festivities that you won’t want to miss:

• The festivities will begin on Thursday, October 26th at the beautiful Bear Creek Smokehouse, which is nestled on a sprawling 1500-acre property they refer to as “Bear Bottom.”
• Satisfy your taste buds with delicious culinary offerings and enjoy the interactive carnival atmosphere. Don’t forget to meet the animal residents of the property, including Bullseye and J Packley the longhorns, Burrita the miniature donkey, Reba the mini horse, and Vincent Van Goat.
• Prepare to be amazed by the awe-inspiring entertainment provided by local schools’ bands, color guards, and cheer teams. You’ll also have the chance to enjoy live music from some of our area’s most popular musicians.
• On Saturday, the event will culminate in the highly anticipated “All Things Pumpkin” Fall Festival. Indulge your love for everything pumpkin and soak in the seasonal spirit.
• The event will close with a dazzling fireworks display that promises to be a spectacular celebration of light and color.

Mark your calendars and join in the fun at the 80th Anniversary Bash! While you’re at the festival, be sure to take a seat on the front porch and enjoy the stunning views of the rolling hills and livestock. It is the perfect place to spend a relaxing day with family and friends in the peaceful countryside. Come and discover all the amazing things this hidden gem has to offer! At Bear Creek Smokehouse, they are thrilled to celebrate this milestone with the community and customers. This is an event you won’t want to miss! 

www.bearcreeksmokehouse.com 

“Come ready to have a good time and bring your family. It’s going to be an incredible three-day event and we promise you won’t leave hungry!” – Robbie Shoults

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The WonderStick is a trademarked ice cream ‘stick,’ first discovered by retired local physician, Dr. Tobin Grigsby on a trip through South Korea in 2013.
He put his own delicious spin on it and along with his son, Lee Grigsby created, Wonderstick, a tasty, unique and refreshing ice cream treat.

Under Grigsby’s leadership, WonderStick has grown to 5 festival trailers that help share WonderStick with the entire country. They travel to some of the largest State Fairs and festivals from Shreveport to Minnesota and everywhere in between.

While at a state fair in New Mexico, they were approached by a team from A&E to be featured in an episode on their new show.

Upcoming local dates with WonderStick: Please contact Lee Grigsby (pictured)for interview opportunities.

Sunday, July 2, 7pm – 10pm, Cypress Baptist Church, Benton

Tuesday, July 4, Daytime: Harrah’s Louisiana Downs

Evening: KTBS Freedom Fest: Shreveport River Front

July 14-15 Red River Balloon Rally at Louisiana Downs

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BY CHRIS JAY

Theresa Gullo, owner of Gullo’s Fresh Produce and Classic Bake Shop, is a fighter. Since 2011, she and a small team have operated the homestyle restaurant and farm stand that her parents opened in 1970 at 724 E. Flournoy Lucas Rd. in Shreveport.

Spring of 2020 marked the restaurant’s fiftieth year in business, but Gullo was too busy surviving to celebrate. She’d been through too much—including a fire that gutted the restaurant’s kitchen in 2015—to let the pandemic put her out of business.

“I knew we were gonna make it when someone came by for curbside pick-up, a regular who’s been coming in here for years,” she said. “I said: ‘Bob, I don’t know if I’m going to make it.’ He said: ‘Aw, yeah, honey, you’re gonna make it. You’re stronger than a garlic milkshake.’”

Gullo laughed at the memory, but her eyes sparkled with emotion. It has not been an easy road.

She grew up farming Gullo land, which her first-generation Italian immigrant grandparents purchased up and down the Southeast Shreveport riverfront. Much of what is now the southernmost end of East Kings Highway, formerly Hart’s Island Road, once belonged to her grandfather, a truck farmer named Joe Gullo. The original, hand-painted sign for Joe Gullo’s Produce can still be seen at her business.

“When I was five or six years old, my grandfather would put all five of us grandkids in the back of his farm truck,” she recalled. “He’d take us to the field, and he’d leave us there to pick produce ‘til lunch. The next morning, he’d head to South Highlands, and the housewives would come out to buy produce from him.”

Gullo’s parents, John and Reatha Gullo, began cooking hamburgers and plate lunches to bring in money during the winter months when farming operations ground to a halt.

“They had a little kitchen in the back, where mom cooked hamburgers in a skillet and had a FryDaddy for the fries,” Theresa said. “Then she started doing casseroles, and she kind of made a name for herself.”

Gradually, the restaurant came to be revered for Reatha’s stick-to-your-ribs plate lunches like chicken- fried steak, smothered pork chops, fried catfish (still served every Friday), and spaghetti and meatballs.

Theresa assumed responsibility for the restaurant in 2011 after both of her parents passed away within months of one another. Her mother’s funeral was held three days before Christmas. Reatha Gullo had left behind a notebook stuffed with unfulfilled holiday orders for Christmas hams, turkeys, cakes, and pies. The same day that they buried Reatha, Theresa and one of her cousins reopened the restaurant.

“We came back to the kitchen after the funeral, and I didn’t know what we were gonna do, but we filled every single order,” Theresa said.

A fire in 2015 threatened to shutter the business for good, requiring nine months of renovations prior to reopening. Without a dining room for customers, she was able to hang on thanks to regular customers who continued to purchase to-go meals, fresh produce, and frozen casseroles. Gullo never considered shutting the place down. She remembered her mother’s warning: Because the restaurant is “grandfathered-in” to local zoning ordinances, it would be difficult or impossible to reopen if it were ever to close.

“A lot of people would have said, ‘Well, that’s it,’” she said. “I came in here the morning after the fire, and it was the worst thing I’ve ever gone through. But it never occurred to me not to reopen.”

In recent years, the reputation of Gullo’s hamburgers has spread throughout the region. An enormous, double- patty bacon cheeseburger called “The Weekender” has won a number of local votes for best burger, and the restaurant’s exemplary chicken-fried steak (available each Thursday) has also built a dedicated following. After dining, many guests will pick up grab-and-go casseroles, fresh vegetables, baked goodies, or canned salsas and preserves made by locals.

What’s the secret to surviving hard times? Just keep showing up, she said.

“You gotta get up, put one foot in front of the other, and deal with it,” she said. “You get past it, you really do.”

For more information including menus, follow Gullo’s on Facebook at @GullosFreshProduce.

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