BY DANI TIETZ
dani@sjodaily.com
There is one thing that Wood N’ Hog owners Michael McDonald and Okema Battle have known their whole lives: that they can depend on each other.
Like most Americans, the siblings grew up eating barbeque.
“I grew up in Chicago where there were four (barbeque restaurants) in a three-mile radius,” McDonald said.
But owning a successful barbeque restaurant with two locations, one in Urbana and the other in downtown Champaign, was not really on the radar.
In fact, it was something that McDonald had to convince Battle to do.
Growing up in Chicago, the son and daughter of parents who were impacted by the crack-cocaine epidemic, McDonald and Battle had to rely on each other for support from a very young age.
“I don’t like to make excuses, and I’m not trying to throw anybody under the bus,” McDonald said. “But there were systems in place for us, where we kind of navigated through those systems and kind of found our way.
“We could have got lost in the system. So I’m very fortunate that that didn’t happen.”
McDonald found refuge in his sister’s home through high school. They also worked together at the same donut shop.
“Everything happens the way God intended it to be,” McDonald said. “It showed us that we needed to lean on each other.”
The owner of the shop ended up giving both Battle and McDonald management positions that changed the trajectory of their lives. Battle became the manager of the donut shop while McDonald became the manager of a barbeque restaurant next door, under the same ownership.
As McDonald prepared to come to the University of Illinois, the business owner brought him to the Champaign-Urbana area. McDonald enjoyed being part of the community so much that he set his eyes on settling in East Central Illinois.
“Most of my friends that were born and raised here want to escape, but I like it,” McDonald said. “It’s diverse, transient, not too fast-paced.”
Still working as the manager in Chicago, McDonald made the commute in order to raise his family in the Champaign area.
“I was trying to work for him down here,” McDonald said. “I was like, ‘you should open a barbeque spot down here. I’ve got a great location.
“He told me he and his wife weren’t interested in doing that. So the hard part was getting my sister to believe that we can do this.”
The siblings were working 10 to 11 hours a day as managers; McDonald thought that they could put in a couple extra hours and work for themselves.
Taking the leap from a weekly paycheck to self-employment was a hard decision to make.
“It took about six months,” Battle said. “I’ve got kids and I was in my own space. I didn’t know about opening a shop and going out on the limb.”
Despite being nervous, Battle moved to Champaign-Urbana to face opening up a restaurant with her brother.
Still, it was four months before they could get anything up off the ground.
“We opened (on Fourth Street in Champaign) on my wife’s due date,” McDonald said.
That was in 2016. As of July 2019, Wood N’ Hog moved to 101 W. University Ave, Urbana. Then on March 4, 2020, the duo opened a second location at 500 N. Walnut Street (corner of Walnut and Washington) in Champaign.
The secret to their rapid growing business model has been authenticity.
Having purchased the building where Lil’ Porgy’s established a tradition of barbeque for 40 years, McDonald and Battle know that they have a lot of tradition to carry on as people look for a local “hole-in-the-wall” barbeque staple.
“I think our barbecue is different than some of the commercial barbecue places that are out there,” McDonald said. “We don’t use any machines. We don’t have any fancy equipment. It’s just direct and indirect heat.”
Their slogan “All Smoke, No Joke” comes along with a commitment to producing a sustainable heat source and smoking the meat for two to three hours before it is served.
“We have to have a person or persons manning the pit at all times,” he said. “It’s not a situation where we can start a fire, put meat on it, go to sleep and come back, like some places in town.”
With flavors reflective of barbeque served in Chicago and Kansas City with a vinegar-based sauce, Wood N’ Hog has worked to develop a menu that has a little something for everybody.
Historically, barbeque has been made with beef and pork, and originally, Wood N’ Hog served only the basics, but over the last four years, McDonald and Battle have had their hearts set on providing something for everyone.
“As people grow, they want healthier, leaner food and healthier options,” McDonald said.
Alongside ribs, the Wood N’ Hog menu also features chicken, turkey, fish and sausage. Recently, they’ve also grown their vegetarian options.
“I like options and choice,” McDonald said. “I have a family of five. We can go to the restaurant and everybody has something different. So we didn’t want not having a menu item on our menu to deter people from coming.
“There’s a market for everybody to be happy and eat at the same table.”
Wood N’ Hog’ s opportunity to open in downtown Champaign came after a local contractor experienced their product at an event they catered.
“He saw something in me and us that I didn’t see in myself,” McDonald said.
Taking the leap to once again build a following at a new location was scary for the Wood N’ Hog owners.
But, working together from nothing to something is what McDonald and Battle do best.
“We don’t have a template; it’s not like anybody in our family-owned businesses,” McDonald said. “We kind of learn as we go.”
While navigating the business world, there is one thing that the siblings know how to do.
“We treat everybody with respect and kindness,” he said.
Wood N’ Hog knows that they have one time to “get it right” with customers, so they want to make sure that their food and customer service are perfect every time.
“That’s why we’re here every day,” McDonald said.
“We do it with passion. We cook every day. Sometimes we run out of food; we don’t have bulk food. There’s never a time where we give you something from yesterday
We are really intentional about making sure we provide a really good product.”
Part of that product is seeing the owners behind the counter or in the kitchen on a day-to-day basis.
“That’s one of the things that makes us unique; you’ll see my sister and myself when you come into these doors,” he said.
Running a business together has not been contentious; instead, McDonald and Battle continue to know that they are the other’s best friend.
“She was the first lady at my wedding; I didn’t have a first man,” he said. “We’ve kind of been through the trenches together.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Battle said. “I don’t think I could do it with anybody else.
“We bump heads every now and again, but he’s a cool dude. It’s a good brother-sister business.”
