Chris Stafford grew up in Marin County and has spent most of his life living in the Bay Area.
After he met his wife, Sara, they spent some time in the south, where he discovered his love of barbecue. He’s a mild-mannered engineer by day, but brings authentic Texas style barbecue to Marin as Lone Mountain BBQ when the hunger arises. The following is an interview with Stafford:
What do you do? I’ve worked in tech as a systems administrator and DevOps engineer since 2012, and do my BBQ pop-ups and catering on the side.
Where do you live? Novato.
How long have you lived in Marin? I lived in Marin for 21 years before moving to the south. My wife and I then moved to the Peninsula/East Bay for a few years before ultimately returning to Marin, where we currently live.
Where can we find you when you’re not at work?
Playing at either Pioneer or Miwok Park with our three year old, Charlotte. Eating burritos at Carmen La Hacienda. Hiking around Mt. Burdell or Indian Valley.
If you had to convince someone how awesome Marin was, where would you take them?
Hike either Mount Tamalpais or Ring Mountain. Grab dinner at the Buckeye, then swing by the Marin Headlands. Muir Woods.
What’s one thing Marin is missing?
A more robust restaurant scene in general. Since moving from the East Bay, we have really been feeling it.
What’s one bit of advice you’d share with your fellow Marinites? Utilize all of the small local businesses rather than defaulting to established brick and mortars. There are a ton of nice underground/cottage food operations in the area.
If you could invite anyone to a special dinner, who would they be?
Tootsie Tomanetz from Snow’s Barbecue, unbelievably sweet lady with a lifetime of experience; Matt Honeycutt from [the metalcore band] Kublai Khan TX; and my grandparents.
What is some advice you wish you knew 20 years ago?
Start your barbecue business in your 20s, and not your mid 30s.
What is something that in 20 years from now will seem cringeworthy? Electricity-themed vanity plates on Teslas, and TikTok dancing.
Big question. What is one thing you’d do to change the world? I’ve lost quite a few family members to cancer, so it would be nice if that got cured.
Chris Stafford and Lone Mountain BBQ will be doing a pop-up at Adobe Creek Brewing in Novato next Saturday, May 13, starting at 3pm, so get hungry. Meanwhile, follow him on Instagram at @lonemountainbbq.
